Publications by authors named "M Absoud"

Around 5% of the children and teenagers worldwide are affected by Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD], making it a major public health concern. Recently, demand for assessments has substantially increased, putting strain on healthcare and waiting lists. There is concern that pressure to clear service bottlenecks is leading to variable quality and reliability of ADHD assessments in this population.

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Background: Children with an intellectual disability (ID) are 3-4 times more likely to present with behaviors that challenge and mental health problems than typically developing children. Parenting and the quality of parent-child relationships are risk factors for these families. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated difficulties, leading to an increase in child mental health problems and behaviors that challenge, a deterioration in parental mental health, and further strain on family relationships.

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Article Synopsis
  • A survey of 66 specialist mental health services looked at how they care for children with intellectual disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviors or may have mental health issues.
  • Only 24% of services reached out to families at the referral stage, and only 20% provided therapeutic support during either the referral or waiting phases.
  • The findings suggest that services should enhance contact with families and offer more therapeutic options throughout a child's treatment process, especially given the long waiting times for mental health support.
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It is unknown if cognition is impaired before clinical onset of paediatric acquired demyelinating syndromes. We conducted a matched cohort study using prospectively collected educational data in multiple sclerosis (MS) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) patients (n = 60) and controls (pooled n = 449,553). Academic performance at ages 10-11 was impaired in MOGAD (-1.

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Objectives: There is limited evidence on the effectiveness of parenting interventions to improve disruptive behaviour in children with intellectual developmental disabilities. This clinical trial evaluated whether an adapted group parenting intervention for preschool children with intellectual developmental disabilities who display challenging behaviour is superior to treatment as usual in England.

Study Design: 261 children aged 30-59 months with moderate to severe intellectual developmental disabilities and challenging behaviour were randomised to either the intervention (Stepping Stones Triple P) and treatment as usual or treatment as usual alone.

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