No abstract

Children with physical disabilities generally require more care, attention and direct supervision than children without disabilities. Research demonstrates that these higher care-giving demands are associated with poorer psychological and physical health states for parents and other family members. Assistive technologies may have a role in mitigating caregiver stress and burden by improving functional performance, social interaction and autonomy in children with physical disabilities. In this paper, we report on the initial development and testing of the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale - a new measure designed to detect the multidimensional effect of assistive device use on families who have young children with disabilities. To study the content validity and face validity of the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale, we conducted structured evaluations of the proposed constructs and items with 14 clinical experts and parents of young children with cerebral palsy. Experts agreed that the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale contains the key variables needed to study the effect of assistive technology use on child and family functioning. Parents concurred that items on the preliminary version were relevant and clear. Further research is planned to estimate the reliability and other aspects of validity of the Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale.

Background Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play an important role in discussing weight with children and their parents but report barriers such as lack of training and supports. These barriers are especially prevalent within specialized populations such as children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To address this, a Knowledge Translation Casebook on positive weight‐related conversations was developed by a research team at a Canadian paediatric hospital. The purpose of the current pre‐implementation pilot study was to explore initial acceptability and adoption of the Casebook into clinical settings. Methods An interactive, multimodal education workshop was created to provide HCPs with knowledge and training on how to have positive weight‐related conversations with children and parents. Two workshops were conducted using the same curriculum but delivered either in‐person or online. Participants were drawn from a team of clinicians at a teaching hospital whose care focuses on medication management for clients with ASD and clinicians participating in a distance learning programme on best practice care for clients with ASD. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, workshop evaluation, and a pre‐workshop and post‐workshop questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize demographic, questionnaire, and survey data. Answers to open‐ended questions were analysed using content analysis. Results Participants agreed that the workshop gave them a clear understanding of the Casebook's content and helped them easily navigate the Casebook. Based on raw scores, self‐efficacy in having weight‐related conversations seemed to increase from pre‐to post‐workshop, but reported weight‐management clinical practice scores did not change over time. However, the small sample precluded in‐depth statistical analysis. Conclusions The Casebook was acceptable and appeared to increase self‐efficacy about having weight‐related conversations with children with ASD and parents. More robust implementation strategies are needed to foster the uptake of best practices in weight‐related conversations into clinical practice.

Introduction Transition from pediatric to adult care has significant implications for health outcomes in youth with special health care needs. To optimally support the transition, health care and social service providers must work collaboratively with youth and families in service planning, implementation, and evaluation. Based on interviews with 15 youth and their families, we developed an arts-informed interprofessional education activity titled Transitions Theatre using the method of readers’ theater. Methods Three educators with lived experience (one former pediatric rehabilitation client and two parents of youth with special health care needs) and three academic/clinical educators codesigned the transitions. We conducted four online workshops (14–20 participants each). Results A total of 67 people participated: 59 students from 11 health disciplines and seven postlicensure clinicians and one trainee from five disciplines (e.g., occupational therapy, life skills coaching, early childhood education). Twenty-six participants answered both pre- and postworkshop surveys and reported a positive shift in their understanding of client and family perspectives, their roles in transition support, and other providers’ roles in transition support. After the workshop, learners felt more confident with transition support and interprofessional collaboration. The perspectives of the educators with lived experience aligned with the theater scripts and enhanced learners’ empathetic engagement with the topic. Discussion The evidence-based teaching approach of readers’ theater and our coteaching model offered learners a unique opportunity to learn about the challenges clients and their families face at the time of transition to adulthood and identify their role in an interprofessional transition support.