Dear CanChild,

Welcome to the June 1st edition of the CanChild Today! Apply now for the Family Engagement in Research Course, participate in a research study or check out new publications by our CanChild members!

Please feel free to share CanChild newsletter & resources with family, friends and colleagues. 

They can subscribe to the CanChild Today! newsletter for free by registering here. 

Our past issues are archived on the CanChild website and can be accessed here.

Applications due June 19th for both Fall and Winter cohorts!

Computer Based Instrument for Low Motor Language Testing (C-BiLLT)

We are interested in your perceptions about the barriers and facilitators to using the C-BiLLT in Canadian clinics and with Canadian children who have CP. Focus groups will be virtual and will be approximately 2 hours. To find out more, check out this short video.

Please contact Sarah Hopman: hopmansn@mcmaster.ca

COVID Time Capsule

Inviting families with children between 8-21 who have a disability: We want to hear about your experiences during COVID and your ideas about what services and supports families need moving forward.

Please contact

Anna Swain: minchena@mcmaster.ca

Participation of Children with Autism During COVID-19: The Role of Maternal Participation

A study involving 130 mothers of school-aged children with autism, aged 6 to 13, found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers wished to see a change in their child’s participation in 71% of the activities done both at home and in the community. It also found that mother's own participation in health-promoting activities had a positive association with their child's involvement in activities at home, but not in the community. For more information visit the ASPIRE website and/or access the full manuscript. 

Authors: Ziru Wang, Anat Golos, Jonathan A. Weiss, and Dana Anaby

Tasks performed by parents to enable telepractice for children with communication disorders: an interview study with clinicians and parents. 

Current service models in childhood rehabilitation promote the active participation of parents/caregivers in their children’s therapies. This study describes the tasks undertaken by parents in their children’s speech therapy delivered virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that parents perform many tasks to support their children’s therapies, both during and outside of therapy sessions. Therapies delivered virtually require parents to assume additional tasks to support their children. While parents were willing to perform these tasks in order to help their children, some expressed the toll that it can take on them. For services to be Family-Centered, tasks and responsibilities need to be decided collaboratively between parents and clinicians. 

Authors: Kinga Pozniak, Peter Rosenbaum, and Elaine Kwok.

Individual and contextual factors influencing children's effort in pediatric rehabilitation interventions.

Children have a quantifiable amount of control over the effort that they put into their rehabilitation journey, which can either increase or decrease the quantity and quality of therapy. However, effort is not described effectively in pediatric literature. It is defined by the involvement or participation of a child, as opposed to contextual characteristics, such as the content of therapeutic feedback or meaningfulness of the task. This makes it difficult for researchers and clinicians to design interventions that can sustain effort from a child and their family. In this narrative review, the authors describe factors such as intensity, participation and engagement that contribute to effort.

Author: Danielle Levac