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Research

Can Wearable Inertial Measurement Units Be Used to Measure Sleep Biomechanics? Establishing Initial Feasibility and Validity

Wearable motion sensors, specifically, Inertial Measurement Units, are useful tools for the assessment of orientation and movement during sleep. The DOTs platform (Xsens, Enschede, The Netherlands) has shown promise for this purpose. This pilot study aimed to assess its feasibility and validity for recording sleep biomechanics.

Research

Devising a Missing Data Rule for a Quality of Life Questionnaire - A Simulation Study

The aim of this study was to devise an evidence-based missing data rule for the Quality of Life Inventory-Disability (QI-Disability) questionnaire specifying how many missing items are permissible for domain and total scores to be calculated using simple imputation.

Research

Improving clinical trial readiness to accelerate development of new therapeutics for Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome is associated with severe functional impairments and many comorbidities, each in urgent need of treatments. Mutations in the MECP2 gene were identified as causing Rett syndrome in 1999. Over the past 20 years there has been an abundance of preclinical research with some studies leading to human clinical trials.

Research

Hand function development of children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy: A scoping review

Hemiplegic cerebral palsy (hCP) typically impacts sensorimotor control of the hand, but comprehensive assessments of the hands of children with hCP are relatively rare. This scoping review summarizes the development of hand function for children with hCP.

Research

Participation predictors for leisure-time physical activity intervention in children with cerebral palsy

To determine the predictors of magnitude of change in response to a participation-focused leisure-time physical activity intervention in children with cerebral palsy (CP) using the ParticiPAte CP protocol.

Research

Botulinum toxin and surgical intervention in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: who, when and why do we treat?

This audit aimed to increase understanding of the long-term outcomes of evidence-based medical and surgical interventions to improve gross motor function in children and adolescents with Cerebral Palsy.

Research

Discovery of 42 genome-wide significant loci associated with dyslexia

Reading and writing are crucial life skills but roughly one in ten children are affected by dyslexia, which can persist into adulthood. Family studies of dyslexia suggest heritability up to 70%, yet few convincing genetic markers have been found.

News & Events

The Kids researchers finalists in Premier’s Science Awards

Three outstanding The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have been named finalists in the 2016 Premier's Science Awards

Research

Measurement properties and feasibility of chronic pain assessment tools for use with children and young people with cerebral palsy

Chronic pain assessment tools exist for children, but may not be valid, reliable, and feasible for populations with functional, cognitive or communication limitations, for example, cerebral palsy (CP). This study aimed to (i) identify chronic pain assessment tools used with children and young people and rate their measurement properties; (ii) develop a CP specific feasibility rating tool to assess the feasibility of tools in CP; and (iii) categorise tools according to reporting method.

Research

Psychosocial wellbeing, parental concerns, and familial impact of children with developmental coordination disorder

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental condition impacting motor skill acquisition and competence. While previous studies have identified adverse psychosocial outcomes in DCD, they are limited by small or population-screened, community-based samples.