A Systematic Review of Music Interventions to Support Parent-Child Attachment.

Secure attachment in early childhood is important for wellbeing throughout life. Music interventions show promise for supporting early parent-child relationships; however, their effects on attachment security are unclear as few music intervention evaluations have measured attachment outcomes. This systematic literature review aimed to synthesize published empirical literature examining the effects of music interventions on relationship quality between typically developing children aged birth to 5 years old and their parents.

Evaluating programs for young people with a family member with mental health challenges: protocol for a mixed methods, longitudinal, collaborative evaluation.

Background: Young people with a sibling or parent who experiences mental health challenges have their own support needs. Most programs designed for this population lack a strong evidence base, and the involvement of young people in the development and evaluation of programs designed to support them is unclear or lacking.

Methods: This paper describes a protocol for a mixed methods, longitudinal, collaborative evaluation of a suite of programs delivered by The Satellite Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation for young people (5-25 years) who have a family member with mental health challenges.

A survey of assessment practices among health professionals diagnosing females with autism.

Background: Emerging research suggests there may be a distinct female autism phenotype, although females are still diagnosed at a much lower rate than males. To date, no research has examined the assessment practices of health professionals when assessing females for autism.

Aims: This study aimed to identify the training received, level of confidence, and assessment practices specific to assessing females for autism.

Parent experiences of obtaining an autism diagnosis for their daughter: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Autistic females are often diagnosed later than males and are also more likely to be misdiagnosed with other conditions. Co-occurring conditions may also be diagnosed at the time of the assessment but their autism diagnosis is missed. The majority of research examining the parent experience of obtaining an autism diagnosis for their child has included predominantly or exclusively male children in their samples.

Methods used by psychologists for identifying dyslexia: A systematic review.

Inconsistencies in the operationalisation of dyslexia in assessment practices are concerning. Variations in different countries' education contexts and education-related legislation could contribute to continuing discrepancies between psychologists' assessment practices. However, an international "snapshot" of these practices is unavailable.

Diagnosing adults with dyslexia: Psychologists' experiences and practices.

Previous research has investigated how psychologists identify dyslexia in school-aged children. However, it is presently unclear how psychologists diagnose dyslexia in adults. This study aimed to explore psychologists' understandings and experiences in how they assess adults for dyslexia.

The Feedback Session of an Autism Assessment: A Scoping Review of Clinical Practice Guideline Recommendations.

This review aimed to assess the quality and content of recommendations for delivering an autism diagnosis, published internationally within clinical practice guidelines. Seventeen relevant guidelines were identified. When methodological information was provided, recommendations for feedback were predominantly formed through consensus.

A cross-syndrome evaluation of a new attention rating scale: The Scale of Attention in Intellectual Disability.

Whilst neuropsychological research has enhanced our understanding of inattentive and hyperactive behaviours among children with intellectual disability (ID), the absence of rating scales developed for this group continues to be a gap in knowledge. This study examined these behaviours in 176 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Down Syndrome (DS), or idiopathic ID using a newly developed teacher rating scale, the Scale of Attention in Intellectual Disability. Findings suggested that children with ASD had a significantly greater breadth of hyperactive/impulsive behaviours than those with DS or idiopathic ID.

Development of a New Attention Rating Scale for Children With Intellectual Disability: The Scale of Attention in Intellectual Disability (SAID).

Difficulties with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are thought to be as common among children with intellectual disability (ID) as they are in children without ID. Despite this, there is a lack of scales to specifically assess ADHD symptomatology in children and adolescents with ID. This article describes the development and evaluation of a teacher-completed measure; the Scale of Attention in Intellectual Disability (SAID).

An effectiveness trial of cognitive behaviour therapy in a representative sample of outpatients with psychosis.

Objectives: The efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapies for psychosis (CBTp) has been sufficiently established for its inclusion in some national treatment guidelines. However, treatment efficacy does not guarantee effectiveness in routine practice, where clinician expertise and patient mix may be different. Thus, we evaluated the applicability, acceptability and effectiveness of CBTp when offered routinely in a public mental health service.

Mortality in a cohort of opiate and amphetamine users in Perth, Western Australia.

Aims: This study compares the hazard of death among opiate and amphetamine using clients who accessed drug treatment with individuals who had no specialist treatment contact between 1985 and 1998.

Design, Setting, Participants: This was a retrospective cohort study of 4280 drug-using individuals (2887 opiate users, 1393 amphetamine users) admitted to Perth metropolitan hospitals or Perth psychiatric institutions between 1985 and 1998. Of these, 1469 attended Next Step Specialist Drug and Alcohol Services (928 received methadone and 541 attended counselling or support groups) and 2811 had no contact with this service.

Characteristics, retention and readmissions of opioid-dependent clients treated with oral naltrexone.

The aims of this study were to examine the retention rates of opioid-dependent clients treated with oral naltrexone and identify factors that influence retention in treatment of 981 opioid-dependent clients at a public out-patient clinic in Perth, Western Australia. The average retention period for all clients was 9.0 weeks.