Experiences of Families With Young Power Wheelchair Users

Independent mobility in typically developing infants and young children has been linked to growth in many areas of child development and changes in family behavior and interaction. Research suggests similar benefits in young children with motor disability who use powered mobility. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how families experienced their child’s development, growth, and abilities after using a power wheelchair for 1 year with the intent to generate a preliminary model to capture the process and relationships among these experiences. Eight families participated in interviews, and using grounded theory methodology the research team investigated their experiences. Results informed the development of the preliminary model that framed three key themes: (a) child competence, (b) parenting experience, and (c) the influence of power wheelchair use along with the key category It will help in the long run that titled and anchored the model. This model provides a possible view into how the use of powered mobility may influence development by supporting both child competence and the parenting experience.

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Imitation in Angelman syndrome: the role of social engagement

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-72079-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Serena Micheletti ◽

◽

Giacomo Vivanti ◽

Stefano Renzetti ◽

Paola Martelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Children ◽

Angelman Syndrome ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Instructional Style ◽

Mental Age ◽

The Social ◽

Infants And Young Children

Abstract Individuals with Angelman syndrome (AS) are characterized by severe cognitive impairments alongside an enhanced drive for social engagement. As knowledge on imitation skills in this population is limited, we conducted the first controlled study of imitation in AS. We examined how 23 individuals with AS and 21 typically developing young children with similar mental age imitated novel actions in response to socially or non-socially engaging models, and in response to video-recorded versus live demonstrations of novel actions. Individuals with AS imitated as frequently and as accurately as typical young children in response to live demonstrations; but they imitated less frequently and less accurately in response to video-recorded demonstrations. Further, imitation was modulated by whether the demonstrator was socially engaging or emotionally neutral in the AS group, while this modulation was not present in the comparison group. Individuals with higher mental age imitated more frequently and more accurately across groups. Imitation performance in AS appears to be more modulated by the social context compared to typical infants and young children with similar mental age, possibly reflecting an enhanced drive for social engagement. A socially engaging instructional style might facilitate imitative learning in this population.

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Disfluency Characteristics Observed in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Preliminary Report

Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders ◽

10.1044/ffd20.2.42 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 42-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Laura W. Plexico ◽

Julie E. Cleary ◽

Ashlynn McAlpine ◽

Allison M. Plumb

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Young Children ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Descriptive Study ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Young Children With Autism ◽

Spectrum Disorders ◽

Developmental Stuttering

This descriptive study evaluates the speech disfluencies of 8 verbal children between 3 and 5 years of age with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Speech samples were collected for each child during standardized interactions. Percentage and types of disfluencies observed during speech samples are discussed. Although they did not have a clinical diagnosis of stuttering, all of the young children with ASD in this study produced disfluencies. In addition to stuttering-like disfluencies and other typical disfluencies, the children with ASD also produced atypical disfluencies, which usually are not observed in children with typically developing speech or developmental stuttering. (Yairi & Ambrose, 2005).

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