Intervention

Challenge Imagine worrying that something is not quite right with the way your infant is communicating or being told in preschool that your child has a significant speech delay. Next, imagine being on a waitlist for more than a year, and watching your child fall further behind in their language skills. Sadly, such stories [...]

Challenge Family caregivers of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs) often experience stress and mental health difficulties (e.g., anxiety, depression). However, there are few services to support their wellbeing. Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) helps people to cope by increasing acceptance and mindfulness skills, which may help these caregivers. Commitment Training (ACT) Project Summary The [...]

Challenge There are few interventions targeted at children three years of age and under who have early signs of autism or a confirmed diagnosis, despite evidence that early intervention is important. Project Summary Social ABC’s is an intervention co-developed by Dr. Jessica Brian (Holland Bloorview, Toronto), together with Dr. Susan Bryson from Halifax. The intervention [...]

Challenge Every person with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) has their own strengths and challenges. That means there is no one-size-fits-all pathway through the available interventions and services. Families have to figure out what makes the most sense given their child’s needs, age, goals and context. Project Summary Kids Health Brain Network has [...]

Challenge Many children living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are hypersensitive to certain sounds. When exposed to these sounds, they may feel very distressed, which can cause them to react with behaviours such as covering their ears, yelling, screaming or running out of the room to avoid the sound. Schools’ approaches for accommodating sound [...]

Challenge Kids with autism commonly struggle to regulate their emotions and handle the day-to-day stressors in their lives. As a result, they run a higher risk of mental-health challenges such as depression, anxiety disorders and behavioural challenges. Despite this reality, most community-based services have limited mental health supports for autistic children. Project Summary [...]

Challenge Awareness about infant and early mental health among practitioners in health, social services and education in Canada is low compared to other developed jurisdictions.  In addition, resources and information that respect and support the Indigenous communities in Canada are very limited. This initiative strives to fill both these gaps by creating a one-stop-shop for [...]

Challenge Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) often struggle with sleeping, which can impair their day-to-day functioning while placing a heavy burden on caregivers. Project Summary Better Days, Better Nights for Children with NDDs (BNBD-NDD) is a behavioural eHealth intervention. The intervention focuses on increasing and encouraging healthy sleep behaviours as a way to help children [...]

Challenge Children with neurodevelopmental disabilities often struggle because of deficits in attention and executive functions/EF (e.g., inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility). These deficits contribute to severe long-term impairments at school and in life. Project Summary Dino Island is a tablet-based game-like intervention designed to improve attention, short-term memory, and self-regulation (EF). It is specifically designed [...]

Challenge Physical activity is beneficial for all children but has particular benefits for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. However, children living with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families often experience exclusion and lack of opportunities to engage in community recreation opportunities. For children, social isolation can have dramatic consequences because social interactions enable children to learn and [...]