Understanding parent engagement in advanced allied health single session therapy for children with developmental and behavioural disabilities.

Background: Increasingly, health services are adopting short-term consultative therapy models, such as single session therapy, to cope with increased service demands, finite budgets and changing consumer expectations. Within the paediatric sub-specialty of child development and behaviour, allied health clinicians are central to supporting families to understand their children, provide therapeutic interventions and help achieve optimal developmental and health outcomes. This study aimed to describe parents'/caregivers' engagement during advanced allied health consultations utilizing a single session therapy framework for managing neurodevelopmental and behavioural concerns in children.

Reducing time between referral and diagnosis in paediatric outpatient neurodevelopmental and behavioural clinics.

Aim: This study investigated the impact of a transdisciplinary advanced allied health practitioner (AAHP) in a public hospital general paediatric outpatient department for children referred for concerns with neurodevelopment, learning and/or behaviour. It was hypothesised that time from referral to initial consultation and diagnosis was reduced for children initially assessed by AAHP. It was also hypothesised that children seen by AAHP were less likely to require a medical specialist appointment.