July 2017  

 
Welcome to the July issue of CanChild Today! In this edition, we are thrilled to announce the release of the CanChild Annual Report 2016, highlighting a year of CanChild research, impact and achievements in a new online format. We also invite you to explore an exciting new CanChild resource, the F-words in Childhood Disability Knowledge Hub! 

Please feel free to share CanChild resources and this newsletter 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!  
CanChild Annual Report 2016

CanChild is proud to celebrate another outstanding year of childhood disability research with the release of our 2016 Annual Report.


Explore our new online format to learn about highlighted research, news and achievements from the CanChild community. We hope that this report demonstrates how, through partnership and an innovative spirit, a global network of researchers, students, health professionals, families and youth can work together to achieve great things!


New Resource!

Introducing the F-words in Childhood Disability Knowledge Hub
 
Since their introduction in the groundbreaking paper " The 'F-words' in Childhood Disability - I swear this is how we should think! " (2012), these six words - fitness , function,   fun , family ,  friends , and future - have resonated with families and clinicians around the world. Now, CanChild is proud to present the F-words in Childhood Disability Knowledge Hub, a resource that brings together valuable tools for moving the F-words into practice and highlights how the F-words have been adopted and adapted by our international community of families, researchers and clinicians.
 
Check out the F-words in Childhood Disability Knowledge Hub
News & Congratulations!


Congratulations to CanChild colleagues  Wenonah Campbell Cheryl Missiuna (co-PIs), Nancy Pollock,Sheila Bennett, Christiane Kyte, Lisa Rivard, Jacqueline Specht, and Dayle McCauley  on receiving funding from the Ministry of Education for their grant: Synthesizing Knowledge and Developing an Implementation Toolkit to Support Delivery of Integrated Rehabilitation Services.

This project will build on the CanChild  Partnering for Change study program of research to support integrated rehabilitation services in Ontario schools. 


Congratulations to CanChild Student Research Assistant Julia Hanes, who is competing as a Thrower in the 2017 Canada Summer Games (July 28- Aug 13)! Julia set the national record for three events in her classification at the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships, and recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from McMaster's Health Sciences program. Good luck Julia!
Reminder: ACSF:SC Video Survey

The Autism Classification System of Functioning: Social Communication (ACSF:SC) team is eager to hear your thoughts about their new video! 

Designed to answer basic questions about the ACSF:SC, this video explains aspects such as the tool's purpose, the five levels, and how a child is scored. Watch now

After watching, please complete a short survey here:www.is.gd/acsfscvideosurvey

 
Recent Publications by CanChild Members
Sleep: An underemphasized aspect of health and development in neurorehabilitation.

In today's view of health and development of children, the contribution and exacerbation of neurodevelopmental impairments from sleep deficiency is underemphasized. In response to the lack of research evidence in the management of sleep disorders in children with cerebral palsy (CP), the authors conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of literature regarding sleep quantity and quality in children with CP. The adverse effects of sleep deficiency on general child development, physical health and growth, mental functioning, and the consequences for the family were all discussed. Findings show an expanding body of research documenting the negative impact of sleep loss on physical, cognitive, and emotional child health and development, however the presence of literature directly linking the impact of sleep patterns and insufficient sleep on performance in children with CP is lacking. The paper concludes that increasing awareness is paramount and that clinicians must put the management of sleep problems in children with CP at the forefront in order to improve their well-being and the development of the child and main carers. The effects of sleep on parents, inductive patient oriented research, and developing a care pathway for sleep with parents and clinicians were all suggested avenues of future research. Authors: Verschuren OGorter JWPritchard-Wiart L.  Early Hum Dev. 2017 Jul 12. pii: S0378-3782(17)30328-6. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2017.07.006. [Epub ahead of print]

Application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health - Children and Youth in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) is a framework used as a standard language to describe health status. A version for children and youth, the ICF-CY, has also been developed. In response to the need for development of the ICF as a classification tool, the authors analyzed perspectives on its use in describing children with CP. The paper concludes that the ICF-CY can be effectively used in identifying and measuring efficacy and effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions over time, displaying interactive relationships between health conditions and contextual factors. The ICF-CY can also identify issues and provide guidance for children with CP in regards to capacity and performance, offering suggestions for enhancing activity and participation and to prevent secondary impairments. Guiding the goal-setting process, the ICF and ICF-CY allow the combination of body structure and body functions, activity and participation, and contextual factors in an assessment. They also function as a way to view health status from a different and meaningful perspective; how a person with a disability can live a fulfilling life in the community.  Author:  Jeevanantham D Indian Pediatr.  2016 Sep 8;53(9):805-810. Epub 2016 Jun 1.
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