Millions of dollars are spent annually in Canada providing school health support services (SHSS) to children with developmental delays and disabilities (DD) as an important support for inclusive education. However, there is limited information about how allied health professionals (AHP) work together with educators to integrate therapy strategies into educational programming for children with DD. This study examines the strategies AHPs, in Ontario perceived to be successful and are implementing with educators to support participation outcomes for children with DD in the primary grades. This study also describes AHPs’ vision for the future in order to improve their work practices to support participation of children with DD at school. Recognizing that the literature on SHSS has emphasized challenges to providing services to children with DD and collaboration with educators; this study actively employed appreciative inquiry (Preskill, & Catsambas, 2006). Individual in-depth interviews with 15 AHPs (11 OTs, 1 PT, 3 SLPs) were conducted via face-to-face, telephone or video conference. Participants were asked to describe how they viewed participation at school for children with DD, their role in supporting it, the strategies they used to work with educators to support this participation and their vision for the future. AHPs in this study viewed participation of children with DD at school as (a) being in the classroom to provide the opportunity for meaningful engagement with peers and (b) working on similar activities as peers to promote membership and belonging at school. Participants implemented their role to support participation of children with DD by providing equipment, modifying or adapting activities, educating and providing resources to educators. Successful strategies AHPs used to work with educators to facilitate participation of children with DD at school included: finding a key person, developing trust and rapport with an educator, engaging in shared planning with an educator, seeking feedback from educators about their recommendations and listening to educators regarding information about the child with a DD. AHPs also identified their vision for the future in supporting participation of children with DD. Their vision included being a resource to teachers, by consulting to a whole class and being a member of the educational team. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-11 00:13:12.132

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Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are known to experience performance and participation challenges, with early diagnosis being critical for improved outcomes. Children from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to receive their diagnoses later, even when symptomatology is similar. This mixed methods study explored symptom severity, functional difficulties, and age at diagnosis for ASD and to describe the functional challenges encountered by preschool-aged children with ASD of African American descent. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health along with the Model of Human Occupation were the theories used for this study to conceptualize functional challenges and other potential factors. Research questions addressed symptom severity, degree of functional challenges, and age of diagnosis, and to gather family perspectives regarding functional challenges for preschool-aged children of African American descent. Data consisted of subpopulation responses from the 2009-2010 National Survey for Children with Special Healthcare Needs (N = 224) and locally-conducted interviews with parents (N = 3). No significant relationships were found using general linear model between age at diagnosis and symptom severity or degree of functional challenges. Qualitative themes included the diagnosis process, routines and transitions, communication, family and home environment, and school and community environments. Educators and health care providers need to enhance screening for early signs of ASD and consider racial and cultural implications related to performance and participation challenges. Social change implications include the development of effective and targeted awareness campaigns and improved diagnostic and intervention services for children with ASD from minority backgrounds and their families.

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The study made use of cross-sectional design that compared the performance of younger children (6- to 7-year-olds) with that of older children (12- to 13-year-olds) on various measures of executive function. Within this, it made use of a natural experimental design, with children exposed to alcohol<i><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> as the experimental group and non-exposed children as the control group.</font></i></p> </font></font></p>

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The study made use of cross-sectional design that compared the performance of younger children (6- to 7-year-olds) with that of older children (12- to 13-year-olds) on various measures of executive function. Within this, it made use of a natural experimental design, with children exposed to alcohol<i><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> as the experimental group and non-exposed children as the control group.</font></i></p> </font></font></p>

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The study made use of cross-sectional design that compared the performance of younger children (6- to 7-year-olds) with that of older children (12- to 13-year-olds) on various measures of executive function. Within this, it made use of a natural experimental design, with children exposed to alcohol as the experimental group and non-exposed children as the control group.

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No description available.