Neurocircuitry of Autism- fMRI and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
Autism Spectrum DisorderAsperger Disorder1 moreThis study uses functional brain imaging and noninvasive brain stimulation techniques to study the brain basis of developmental disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorder and Asperger Disorder. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and recently approved FDA treatment of depression, Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will be used to study the neurocircuitry of certain symptom clusters in developmental disorders.
Testing the Effectiveness of Telephone-based Early Childhood Developmental Screening
Child DevelopmentDevelopmental Disabilities2 moreThe purpose of this research study is to test the effectiveness of telephone-based early childhood developmental screening and care coordination, compared to usual care in a primary care pediatrics clinic. Investigators randomized 152 participants to one of two study arms, with the intervention families receiving developmental screening over the phone, and control families receiving usual care with their pediatricians.
HealthMatters@24/7 eLearning for People Supporting Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities...
ObesityHypertension2 moreThe barriers faced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) begin in their mid to late 20s and often mirror the experiences of older adults (50+) living in the U.S. While evidence for successful population-specific health promotion programs and training, such as the 12-Week HealthMatters Program has been documented, an urgent need exists for continuous, readily available, on-demand training in these programs. Online training can substantially aid the widespread translation of evidence-based programs into practice and policy. This proposal seeks to test the effectiveness of an enhanced mode of translating the HealthMatters program into practice through the use of an on-demand e-Learning platform (HealthMatters@24/7) for staff in community based organizations (CBOs) in one state; thereby advancing the science of translational research. HO1. More CBOs in the asynchronous training program will have developed Strategic Action Plans for Health and Wellness, established Wellness Committees, and have equal or more resources and improved culture for health promotion at 1 year compared to CBOs participating in the current live HealthMatters TtT Workshop webinar. HO2. Staff in the asynchronous training group will have improved levels of learner/instructor satisfaction (job productivity, job performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, convenience) toward the training immediately after completing the enhanced mode of training, HM@24/7 compared to staff trained using the current live HealthMatters TtT Workshop webinar.
Research Engagement With People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Intellectual DisabilityDevelopmental Disability2 moreThe objectives of this project are to to build sustainable regional communities of Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD) stakeholders to provide ongoing input to research priorities, methodological processes, and relevant person-centered health outcomes; leverage existing Special Olympic infrastructure to nationally disseminate the toolkit in order to increase participation and engagement in research and improve health outcomes; conduct comparative effectiveness trials that incorporate people with IDD focusing on their research priorities.
Fit Families Multisite
Developmental DisabilityIntellectual DisabilityThe purpose of the study is twofold. First, the investigator wants to identify the effect of a 12-week online fundamental motor skills (FMS) (e.g., throwing, catching, running) intervention on active participation in physical recreation activities as well as a variety of other factors(parental stress, parental self-efficacy, and children's adaptive skills). Second, the investigator also wants to identify patterns, benefits, constraints, and strategies to active participation in physical recreation activities among families of children with developmental disabilities such as autism, down syndrome, etc (post-program) via focus groups interviews (via zoom) with parents. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two protocols: 1) Intervention group and 2) wait-listed home-based group. Participants in both groups will receive an activity booklet (in the form of an App) and physical education-related activity items (e.g., ball, hoop). The investigator hypothesizes that both the intervention group will improve in all measures from pre to post compared to the wait-list control group. The study team wants to determine if the differences in the intervention group differ significantly or are equitable in terms of gains in all areas.
Use of an Educational Story to Prepare Children With Developmental Disabilities for Sleep Study...
Developmental DisabilitiesSleep Disorders3 moreThe investigators hypothesize that use of an educational story with pictures illustrating overnight sleep study procedure (also called polysomnography or PSG)accompanied by simple narrative will be a cost-effective, readily accepted intervention that will contribute to successful completion of sleep studies among children with disabilities. Children who have been referred for a clinical sleep study at Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) will be enrolled and randomized to either recieve usual care (discussion of polysomnography with referring clinicians) or educational story intervention. Both groups of participants will be asked to complete questionnaries before and after the sleep study. Set-up for the sleep study will be videotaped so that behavior of the child can be evaluated. The investigators will evaluate whether successful study completion differs between the two groups.
Trial of Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder...
Autism Spectrum DisorderChild Development Disorders1 moreThis study is being carried out to learn more about the effects of Therapeutic Horseback Riding (THR) for children and adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This treatment is very popular and horseback riding for children and adults with disabilities has been used as a form of therapy in the United States for over forty years. However, very little research has been done to find out whether or not THR is effective as a therapy for children with an ASD. This study is being done to see if THR will improve the agitation behaviors, coordination, and communication skills of children and adolescents with an ASD. This study is also being done to find out if the horse is necessary for children and adolescents with an ASD to improve.
Providing Speech Therapy Awareness in Private Schools
Speech and Language DisorderSpeech Therapy7 moreThere has been limited research in the area of speech and language therapy awareness in Pakistan. The study aims to assess the efficacy of providing speech therapy awareness in private schools through a pre-post model. This Quasi experimental study will be a means of reaching out to schools and directly create awareness regarding the field and its scope. Pre-assessment will be carried out and after which a 45 minutes presentation will be conducted face to face or through a webinar as per school directives. The results will be analysed quantitatively and pre-post assessment of the participants will be measured.
Implementation of Electronic Shared Decision-Making Support for Early Intervention
Child Development DisorderDevelopment DelayFamily-centered care is a best practice approach to delivering high quality early intervention (EI) services for children 0-3 years old with developmental needs. Yet, family engagement in designing and monitoring their child's EI service plan is suboptimal. Families need a valid, reliable, and useful tool to share in decisions about the scope of their child's EI service plan. The investigators will achieve a major advance in contributing occupational therapy expertise to improve family engagement when designing and monitoring their child's EI services. The investigators will test the use of an evidence-based electronic tool with families at one EI program, when the child is due for an annual review of progress in the program. The investigators will also gather input from families, practitioners, and program leadership to identify facilitators and barriers to its use in multiple EI programs. This project tries to test an innovation in how the investigators deliver family-centered and participation-focused care. Study results will yield evidence for the effectiveness of the electronic intervention on parent activation, EI service plan focus, EI service use quantity, parent perceptions of EI service quality, and child functioning.
Effect of Improving Caregiving on Early Mental Health
Child Development DisordersThis study evaluates the effect on children and caregivers of providing training in warm, sensitive, responsive caregiving to caregivers in three orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russia. The study also assesses the effectiveness of having more consistent care from fewer caregivers in a family-like environment.