Do it yourself: The role of early self-care ability in social skills in Japanese preschool settings

Self-care ability and social skills are potential areas of difficulty for preschool children. However, values about young children's self-care ability are different worldwide. This longitudinal study examined the influence of early self-care ability on social skills at the end of the preschool years. Participants were 509 children recruited from kindergartens and child care centers across Japan, whose self-care ability and social skills were assessed at baseline year and three years later (Age of children in 2015 at baseline: M = 35 months, SD = 6.1 months). The study found that gender was significantly associated with social skills, while preschool facility entrance age was only associated with assertion skills. After controlling gender and entrance age, early self-care ability was still positively related to later assertion and cooperation (Assertion: OR = 2.55, 95% CI = 1.00–6.51; Cooperation: OR = 3.15, 95% CI = 1.23–8.07). Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of cultural diversity, highlighting the importance of cultivating children's age-appropriate self-care ability based on daily observations and evaluations.

Relationship between Myopia Progression and School Entrance Age: A 2.5-Year Longitudinal Study

Objective. To investigate the association between myopia progression and school entrance age among Chinese schoolchildren and to suggest a more appropriate school age. Methods. 1,463 children aged six to nine years from Wenzhou, China, were examined and followed up for two and a half consecutive years. Their noncycloplegic refraction was measured twice each year by using an automatic refractometer; axial length (AL) and corneal radius of curvature (CRC) were tested annually by using the IOLMaster for 2.5 years. The questionnaires were completed by the children to collect detailed information regarding risk factors. Here, myopia is defined as a spherical equivalent less than −1.0D. Results. The changes in spherical equivalent (SE) of 7-year-old children in grade 1 and grade 2 were −0.45D and -0.56D, while changes in AL were 0.59 mm and 0.62 mm, respectively. The SE changes of 8-year-old children in grade 2 and grade 3 were −0.54D and −0.75D; meanwhile, the AL changes were 0.57 mm and 0.61 mm, respectively. Significant statistical differences were observed in ocular biological structure parameters, except for corneal radius of curvature (CRC) or anterior chamber depth (ACD), among children with the same age in different grades during this study. The prevalence of myopia was also significantly higher in higher grades for children with same age. Conclusions. Myopia is related to children’s school entrance age. Children who start school in an earlier age are more likely to suffer from myopia, and the progression of myopia can be considerably faster. Therefore, it is recommended to enter school after the age of 7.

A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF CRANIAL ORTHOTIC TREATMENT OF INFANTS WITH ISOLATED DEFORMATIONAL BRACHYCEPHALY

OBJECTIVES The study objectives were to prospectively evaluate treatment results of infants presenting with isolated deformational brachycephaly following use of a cranial orthosis, and to investigate the role of entrance age on efficacy of treatment. Abstract PDF Link: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cpoj/article/view/32024/24441 How to cite: Kelly K.M, Joganic E, Beals S.P, Riggs J.A, McGuire M.K, Littlefield T.R. A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF CRANIAL ORTHOTIC TREATMENT OF INFANTS WITH ISOLATED DEFORMATIONAL BRACHYCEPHALY. CANADIAN PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS JOURNAL, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2, 2018; ABSTRACT, ORAL PRESENTATION AT THE AOPA’S 101ST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, SEPT. 26-29, VANCOUVER, CANADA, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i2.32024 Abstracts were Peer-reviewed by the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association (AOPA) 101st National Assembly Scientific Committee. http://www.aopanet.org/

Helmet Treatment of Infants With Deformational Brachycephaly

Deformation of the cranium in infancy represents a spectrum of deformity, ranging from severe asymmetric yet proportional distortion of the skull in plagiocephaly, to nearly symmetric yet disproportional distortion in brachycephaly. As such, the condition is best described as deformational plagiocephaly-brachycephaly with isolated plagiocephaly and/or isolated brachycephaly being at either ends of the spectrum. Due to its symmetric appearance, deformational brachycephaly is often incorrectly dismissed as being less concerning, and it has sometimes erroneously been reported that brachycephaly cannot be treated successfully with a cranial orthosis. We prospectively report on 4205 infants with isolated deformational brachycephaly treated with a cranial orthosis from 2013 to 2017. These results demonstrate that the orthosis is successful in the treatment of deformational brachycephaly with an 81.4% improvement toward normal (95.0 to 89.4) in cephalic index. We furthermore demonstrate that entrance age influences treatment results, with younger infants demonstrating both improved outcomes and shorter treatment times.