Intervention

Challenge It is well established that children benefit from physical activity. But for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, participating in these activities is often challenging, which prevents them from engaging and, in turn, limits their development even further. Project Summary Community-based physical activity programs (PAPs) represent a low-cost, high-impact intervention strategy that can improve the function [...]

Challenge Adolescents with autism often struggle with anxiety, depression, stress and attention.  While cognitive behavioural approaches can support many autistic youth, research shows that many participants will fail to respond to these kinds of treatments, and many of these interventions are targeted only at children 12 years of age and younger. Project Summary Based on [...]

Challenge More than 770,000 Canadians are currently living with ASD, FASD or CP — the most common neurodevelopmental disabilities. Treatments for these conditions have been focused on behavioural and symptom management because there now are no cures or effective preventions. For health care decision-makers to be able to make informed choices, there needs to be [...]

Challenge Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) often experience atypical auditory processing — specifically hypersensitivity to sound. This sensitivity can be so severe that it prevents people with NDD from fully participating in social settings. While there are existing solutions, they often involve entirely removing a child from a noisy environment or using noise reduction devices [...]

Challenge Disability is associated with increased health and social service costs that vary significantly with the severity of the disability. In Canada, estimating the costs associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) is challenging because the diagnosis process is lengthy. There are many costs to consider throughout a person’s lifespan, such as medical care, educational expenses [...]

Challenge In Canada, there have been poor outcomes for children with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD), with educational achievement and employment outcomes being the lowest of all existing disability groups. This outcome is a result of the unmet needs by services for children with a neurodevelopmental disorder and their families. Describing these needs for children with [...]

Challenge Taking part in leisure activities is vital in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, for children with disabilities, it is often challenging to participate in active physical and other leisure activities such as organized sports, summer camps and art classes. These challenges can lead to feelings of isolation and exclusion. Of course, finding ways to [...]

Challenge There has historically been a lack of population-based information on how cerebral palsy presents in children, including possible risk factors, antecedent causes, functional severity,  and co-morbidities of the condition. To better understand the condition, the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Registry was created in Cycle I. Project Summary The Registry is a confidential, nation-wide collection of [...]

Challenge Deficits in the ability to attend and self-regulate are hallmarks of many neurodisabilities, and significantly impact many children's capacities to learn and succeed. Very few practical, affordable, and accessible interventions exist to treat these difficulties in children. Project Summary Attention and Executive Functions (EF) are vital for every aspect of life, including school/work success, [...]

ChallengeCompared to non-Indigenous Canadians, Indigenous children in Canada have an increased risk of developmental delays and poor mental health. This inequity is due to intergenerational trauma, marginalization and a lack of culturally informed interventions.Project SummaryKids Brain Health Network researchers have found that a screening and intervention program called Hand in Hand can improve the developmental [...]