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For thousands of children around Australia with intellectual and other disabilities, the process of eating can be traumatic, posing challenges that veer from uncomfortable to life threatening.

Research

To describe trends, age, and sex-specific patterns of population hospital admissions with a diagnosis of craniosynostosis (CS) in Australia. Population data for hospital separations (in-patient) from public and private hospitals (July 1996-June 2018) were obtained from the publicly available Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Hospital Morbidity Database.

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Accurate knowledge of the relationship between craniofacial anomalies (CFA), intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is essential to improve services and outcomes. The aim is to describe the association between CFA, ID and ASD using linked population data.

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The implementation of an intervention protocol aimed at increasing vocal complexity in three pre-linguistic children with cerebral palsy (two males, starting age 15 months, and one female, starting age 16 months) was evaluated utilising a repeated ABA case series design. The study progressed until the children were 36 months of age. Weekly probes with trained and untrained items were administered across each of three intervention blocks.

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Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) often have excessive daytime sleepiness and emotional/behavioral disturbances. The objective of this study was to examine whether daytime sleepiness was associated with these emotional/behavioral problems, independent of nighttime sleep-disordered breathing, or the duration of sleep.

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Intellectual and developmental disabilities are heterogeneous in aetiology and presentation, and one cannot make assumptions about the oral health barriers of those with Rett syndrome (RTT) based on findings from generic studies. This study investigated caregivers' perceptions regarding access to dental care for those with RTT, and associations of dental treatments received by those with RTT with their caregivers' perceived value of oral health and perception of their own as well as their daughter's dental anxiety.

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Rett syndrome is associated with severe functional impairments and many comorbidities, each in urgent need of treatments. Mutations in the MECP2 gene were identified as causing Rett syndrome in 1999. Over the past 20 years there has been an abundance of preclinical research with some studies leading to human clinical trials.

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Cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) gene pathogenic variants result in CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD). Early onset intractable epilepsy and severe developmental delays are prominent symptoms of CDD. Comorbid sleep disturbances are a major concerning symptom for families.

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Hemiplegic cerebral palsy (hCP) typically impacts sensorimotor control of the hand, but comprehensive assessments of the hands of children with hCP are relatively rare. This scoping review summarizes the development of hand function for children with hCP.

Research

Pathogenic variants in the CDKL5 gene result in CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), which is characterized by early-onset epilepsy, severe developmental delay, and often, cortical visual impairment. Validated clinical outcome measures are needed for future clinical trials to be successful. This study aimed to adapt the Rett Syndrome Hand Function Scale for CDKL5 deficiency disorder and evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, content validity, and reliability.