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Shining a light on neurodiversity research

As Neurodiversity Celebration Week draws to a close, we are shining a light on an important study underway at The Kids Research Institute Australia, led by Dr Thom Nevill, a Research Officer within our Human Development and Community Wellbeing and Child Disability teams.

Codesign and knowledge translation of the Strength-based, Tiered, Accessible Resources and Supports (STARS) for Kids study to identify and support child development

Many children and their families, especially those from priority populations, experience barriers to accessing high-quality early childhood health, education, social and legal services. Further, these families are often under-represented in service planning and research; hence innovations are not designed to meet their needs. Our aim is to codesign with families and the wider community, a Strength-based, Tiered, Accessible Resources and Supports for Kids (STARS for Kids) programme to optimise child development, parental mental well-being, and family psychosocial needs in the first 2000 days from pregnancy to start of school

Exploring sleep challenges in CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder

Sleep disturbance is a common and significant issue for individuals with CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder (CDD) and their families. The study aimed to investigate experiences of sleep disturbance in CDD and associated factors.

Addressing the challenges of intellectual disability identification for health policy and research in Australia

This article discusses the important issue of the need for a stable definition of intellectual disability in order to allow comparisons by place and over time such as in the monitoring of this population's health needs and utilization. The aim of the new Australian National Centre for Intellectual Disability Health, established in 2023, is to ensure that all Australian children and adults with intellectual disability receive high-quality healthcare that meets their needs.

The impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents: A qualitative study

The capacity for children to self-regulate is an important developmental task of early childhood, with caregivers playing an integral role in self-regulation development. While caregivers' emotions and behaviors are known to impact child self-regulatory capacity, the impact of child self-regulation difficulties on parents is less understood. 

Development and initial validation of the Communication Inventory Disability – Observer Reported (CID-OR): a measure of communication in CDKL5 deficiency disorder

CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder (CDD) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by early onset seizures combined with complex healthcare needs and developmental impairment that influence functional domains including communication. Communication is a high priority domain for families but currently used measures demonstrate floor effects. 

Beyond Seizures as an Outcome Measure: A Global Severity Scoring System for CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder

CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) associated with multiple impairments and comorbidities. Outcome measures for disease-modifying clinical trials for DEEs should measurably capture a spectrum of caregiver priorities and be externally validated.

Parents’ Work–Family Conflict and Children’s Emotional Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Parenting Behaviors

Despite growing evidence that parental work–family conflict (WFC) affects children’s emotional well-being, little is known about the multiple pathways underlying such effects. This study examines the association between parental WFC and children’s emotional well-being and the potential mediating role of parenting behaviors in this process.

Parent/caregiver perspectives of meaningful improvement in functional domains for people with CDKL5 deficiency disorder: a mixed-methods study

CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. Greater understanding of the smallest meaningful improvements for individuals with CDD in clinical trials and practice is needed for a person-centred approach to treatment efficacy. This study explored how parent/caregivers of people with CDD understood meaningful improvements and described change for priority functional domains including communication, gross motor, fine motor, feeding.

Psychometric validation of the quality of life Inventory − Disability (QI-Disability) among patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Quality of Life Inventory -Disability (QI-Disability) for individuals with Dravet syndrome (DS) or Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), two rare developmental and epileptic encephalopathy conditions.