Longitudinal Analysis of State Patterns and Related Variables among Infants and Children with Significant Disabilities

Behavior states and related developmental and medical variables were observed during all or part of the first 4 years of life for 34 infants identified with severe cognitive and multiple disabilities. Eight infants died before 1 year of age. Extensive data were then collected for an additional group of 8 infants who were observed through the age of 4 years. Findings demonstrated emerging state profiles during this time period that were consistent with those found among older populations observed in previous investigations. Different behavior state profiles at age 4 years were indicated by several developmental skills in the first year of life. These results suggest the need for specific, early interventions with infants whose state patterns are inconsistent with optimal learning and development.

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Agreement Between Parental Report and Clinician Observation of Infant Developmental Skills

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.734341 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Alexis Federico ◽

Dexin Shi ◽

Jessica Bradshaw

Keyword(s):

Communication Skills ◽

Motor Skills ◽

Social Communication ◽

Parent Report ◽

First Year ◽

Developmental Skills ◽

Social Communication Skills ◽

Young Infants ◽

Strong Relation ◽

First Year Of Life

Understanding the convergence between parent report and clinician observation measures of development is important and became even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic as clinician contact with families was significantly limited. Previous research points to inconsistencies in the degree of agreement between parents and clinicians and very little research has examined these associations for infants within the first year of life. This study investigated the association between parent report and clinician observation measures of social communication and motor skills in 27 young infants who were assessed at 9 and 12 months of age. Results suggest a strong relation between clinician and parent rated motor skills, but weak to moderate associations between clinician and parent rated communication skills. Infant temperament played a significant role in parent ratings of infant communication. Together, these results provide support for data collection via parent report or clinician observation of infant motor skills, but suggest that multiple measures of infant communication may be helpful to obtain high-quality, perhaps more accurate, assessment social-communication skills. Specifically, multiple parent report measures along with an observation of parent-infant interactions will likely provide a more rich and accurate characterization of infant social-communication abilities.

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Fragmentation of maternal, child and HIV services: A missed opportunity to provide comprehensive care

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine ◽

10.4102/phcfm.v8i1.1240 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lyn J. Haskins ◽

Sifiso P. Phakathi ◽

Merridy Grant ◽

Ntokozo Mntambo ◽

Aurene Wilford ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Workers ◽

First Year ◽

Missed Opportunities ◽

Child Services ◽

Time Period ◽

Public Areas ◽

Provision Of Services ◽

Integration Of Services ◽

First Year Of Life ◽

Primary Healthcare Clinics

Background: In South Africa, coverage of services for mothers and babies in the first year of life is suboptimal despite high immunisation coverage over the same time period. Integration of services could improve accessibility of services, uptake of interventions and retention in care.Aim: This study describes provision of services for mothers and babies aged under 1 year.Setting: Primary healthcare clinics in one rural district in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Methods: All healthcare workers on duty and mothers exiting the clinic after attending well-child services were interviewed. Clinics were mapped to show the route through the clinic taken by mother–baby pairs receiving well-child services, where these services were provided and by whom.Results: Twelve clinics were visited; 116 health workers and 211 mothers were interviewed. Most clinics did not provide comprehensive services for mothers and children. Challenges of structural layout and deployment of equipment led to fragmented services provided by several different health workers in different rooms. Well-child services were frequently provided in public areas of the clinic or with other mothers present. In some clinics mothers and babies did not routinely see a professional nurse. In all clinics HIV-positive mothers followed a different route. Enrolled nurses led the provision of well-child services but did not have skills and training to provide comprehensive care.Conclusions: Fragmentation of clinic services created barriers in accessing a comprehensive package of care resulting in missed opportunities to provide services. Greater integration of services alongside immunisation services is needed.

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The Development of Swallowing Respiratory Coordination

Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) ◽

10.1044/sasd18.1.19 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 19-24

Author(s):

Maggie-Lee Huckabee

Keyword(s):

Cortical Activation ◽

First Year ◽

Healthy Children ◽

Nasal Airflow ◽

Single Session ◽

Primary Finding ◽

Patterns Of Behavior ◽

Cortical Modulation ◽

First Year Of Life ◽

Swallowing Apnea

Abstract Research exists that evaluates the mechanics of swallowing respiratory coordination in healthy children and adults as well and individuals with swallowing impairment. The research program summarized in this article represents a systematic examination of swallowing respiratory coordination across the lifespan as a means of behaviorally investigating mechanisms of cortical modulation. Using time-locked recordings of submental surface electromyography, nasal airflow, and thyroid acoustics, three conditions of swallowing were evaluated in 20 adults in a single session and 10 infants in 10 sessions across the first year of life. The three swallowing conditions were selected to represent a continuum of volitional through nonvolitional swallowing control on the basis of a decreasing level of cortical activation. Our primary finding is that, across the lifespan, brainstem control strongly dictates the duration of swallowing apnea and is heavily involved in organizing the integration of swallowing and respiration, even in very early infancy. However, there is evidence that cortical modulation increases across the first 12 months of life to approximate more adult-like patterns of behavior. This modulation influences primarily conditions of volitional swallowing; sleep and naïve swallows appear to not be easily adapted by cortical regulation. Thus, it is attention, not arousal that engages cortical mechanisms.

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