While challenges with body movement is the key feature of cerebral palsy (CP), it is important to recognize that the experience of living with CP goes well beyond these physical, visible, effects. Teens and young adults with CP and other disabilities are more likely than their peers without disabilities to develop mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.

“Growing up with CP: Mental Health & Wellbeing” is a webinar initiated and led by young adults for young adults. Highlighting both lived experience and research from the CP-NET MyStory project, this webinar explores the intersection of mental health and CP, and discusses how we can better support young people in developing positive outcomes in mental health and well-being.

Medscape recently featured the position statement A call for action: Recommendations to improve transition to adult care for youth with complex health care needs by Alene Toulany, Jan Willem Gorter, Megan E. Harrison, and the Canadian Paediatric Society's Adolescent Health Committee!

The statement recommends that parents and caregivers start transition planning as early as possible, to ensure youth with complex health care needs receive continuous care during what can be a vulnerable time.

Are you an occupational therapist or student interested in being trained and certified in the Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP) Approach?

Consider registering for a two-day certification workshop, where you will be trained by Dr. Helene Polatajko, one of the creators of the CO-OP approach! These valuable sessions will be delivered in a hybrid model. In-person sessions will take place in Vancouver, Canada from July 4-5th, 2022.

CO-OP is not only for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), as evidence suggests that this approach is also effective for children with cerebral palsy, autism, and brain injury. As well, the approach may benefit adults with stroke and brain injury. Overall, CO-OP enables children and adults with performance difficulties (physical, cognitive, or other) to succeed in performing the everyday tasks and activities that are important to them.

The CO-OP workshop is being offered as part of the 14th International Development Coordination Disorder Conference (DCD 14) pre-conference program:

Are you a family member or researcher interested in child health research and want to learn more about family engagement in research? The Family Engagement in Research (FER) course might be for you!

We are now accepting applications for the upcoming Fall and Winter cohorts. The application deadline is June 6, 2022. To find out more about this course and to apply, click on the link below.

Better Nights, Better Days for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders is a free online program based on behavioural principles that support parents of children aged 4-12 years old who experience difficulties falling and staying asleep.

Our online program encourages positive sleep behaviours that will help children achieve a better quality of sleep throughout the night.

To see if this program is a good fit for you and your child visit our website:

Are you a caregiver of a child with cerebral palsy (CP)? We want to hear from you!

Contact hopmansn@mcmaster.ca if you are interested!

The McMaster Handwriting Assessment Protocol (3rd Edition) provides a structured framework for assessing the handwriting of school-aged children in kindergarten to Grade 6. This protocol was designed to identify the specific areas in which a child is having difficulty with handwriting and to help occupational therapists determine whether and where to intervene.

The manual includes:

The COVID-19 pandemic restricted many in-person therapeutic programs, including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). As a result, autistic children with mental health challenges may struggle even more without adequate access to evidence-based care. In response, interventions have been adapted for remote delivery. However, there is limited evidence of the acceptability, feasibility, and clinical utility for treating mental health challenges in autistic children through virtual platforms especially within the context of a pandemic.This study assessed parents’ and therapists’ experience as they participated in an adapted manualized CBT program called, Secret Agent Society: Operation Regulation, designed to address social and emotional challenges in autistic children. The survey findings suggest that children were able to learn new emotion regulation skills through online participation, and parents found the program acceptable in addressing their child’s needs. The interview data supported the survey findings and provided new insight into factors that facilitated child engagement or made participation in online interventions challenging. Overall, the findings suggest that adapted online CBT programs for autistic children can have clinical utility, and further research is needed to determine their effectiveness.

Authors: Lee, V., Roudbarani, F., Tablon Modica, P., Pouyandeh, A., & Weiss, J. A. (2022). Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 7(1), 76–93. doi: 10.1080/23794925.2021.1941432

Effectiveness of Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance intervention in improving motor skills of children with developmental coordination disorder: A randomized waitlist-control trial. 

This study aimed to investigate if Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP) was effective in improving performance and transfer of motor learning in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) with/without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and whether outcomes were maintained three months post-intervention. Thirty-seven children with DCD and 41 children with co-occurring ADHD (all 8–12 years) were randomized to treatment or waitlist groups. One hour of intervention took place once weekly for 10 weeks. Three outcomes were measured: (1) self-perceived performance of motor goals; (2) therapist-observed movement quality; and (3) overall motor skill ability/transfer of motor learning. The study found that both groups showed significant improvement in motor performance and movement quality. Three months after treatment, children maintained their gains, but only children with DCD showed transfer of learning to overall motor skills.

Authors: Izadi-Najafabadi, S., Gunton, C., Dureno, Z., & Zwicker, J. G. (2022). Clinical Rehabilitation, 026921552210861. doi: 10.1177/02692155221086188