Development of the Successful Transitions Assessment Tool (STAT) for Crossover Youth (COY): Youth voice and expert feedback with a Delphi approach.

Background: Crossover youth (COY) are involved with child welfare and/or the justice system and experience multifaceted challenges in their transition into adulthood. A literature review identified eight critical indicators of successful transitions for COY and the absence of a validated comprehensive assessment that is youth informed and culturally sensitive.

Objective: To develop a Successful Transitions Assessment Tool (STAT) that is informed by research, Critical Race Theory, and subject matter experts.

Healthcare utilization and costs associated with persistent post-concussive symptoms.

Objective: To describe the healthcare utilization and costs associated with the interdisciplinary treatment of pediatric persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS).

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted with 461 youth referred by community physicians to an interdisciplinary pediatric PPCS outpatient clinic in Ontario, Canada. Healthcare utilization parameters included accessibility, continuity, comprehensiveness, and service productivity.

Understanding the Needs of Ontario Educators in Supporting Students With Acquired Brain Injury in the Classroom.

Background: When a child sustains an acquired brain injury (ABI), the impact extends to significant environments in their life, including school. Educator knowledge of ABI can influence a child's success with academic and social reintegration. An assessment of educator ABI knowledge was conducted to determine what information they require to support school reintegration.

Mood-related changes in children and adolescents with persistent concussion symptoms following a six-week active rehabilitation program.

Primary Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore changes in mood in youth with persistent post-concussion symptoms following participation in a six-week active rehabilitation program.

Research Design: A pre-post test design was used.

Methods And Procedures: Participants (N = 40 children and adolescents with concussion symptoms >2 weeks post-injury) were recruited from the concussion services at an urban children's rehabilitation hospital and the community.

Pediatric Concussion: Managing Persistent Symptoms With an Interdisciplinary Approach.

Objective: We outline the development of a clinic that works directly with youth clients, their caregivers, and family members to help address symptoms that are persisting long after the youth sustained a concussion. Client referral characteristics are described, as well as general clinic flow and procedures. Particular emphasis is placed on a novel interdisciplinary team assessment pathway designed with input from clients and families to help provide consistent treatment plans, education, direction, and conclusions for those clients with complex psychosocial, cognitive, and physical presentations.

Everyday memory difficulties in children and adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

: To investigate whether significant differences exist in everyday memory between youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum (FASD) compared with a nonexposed (NE) control group, while controlling for socioeconomic status and other comorbidities. : Caregiver ratings using the Everyday Memory Questionnaire were obtained for 105 youth (9-17 years of age). Scores were compared between youth with a FASD diagnosis ( = 41; 56% male) and the NE group ( = 64; 53% male) using multivariate analysis of variance.

Investigating a theatre-based intervention for Indigenous youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Exploration d'une intervention basée sur le théâtre auprès de jeunes Autochtones atteints du syndrome d'alcoolisme fœtal.

Background: Theatre-based interventions use artistic media to facilitate social and emotional awareness and have therapeutic benefits for persons with developmental disabilities and mental health problems. The role of these interventions with Indigenous youth who have emotional, behavioural, and cognitive sequelae related to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) has not been explored.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and acceptability of a theatre-based approach for facilitating social communication and engagement in youth with FASD.

Developmental and gender influences on executive function following concussion in youth hockey players.

Background: Concussion is the most common athletic injury in youth who are simultaneously undergoing rapid developmental changes in the brain, specifically the development of executive functions (EF). The developing brain is more vulnerable to concussive injury with a protracted and different trajectory of recovery than that of adults. Thus, there is a critical need to enhance understanding of how concussion affects EF in youth.

Arts-based social skills interventions for adolescents with acquired brain injuries: five case reports.

Objective: Previous research has demonstrated the value of arts-based programs for adolescents with childhood brain disorder to facilitate social skills and participation. The current study extends this work by examining the feasibility and effectiveness of an arts-based intervention for youth with acquired brain injuries (ABI).

Methods: A case study approach was used with four adolescent participants and one case control.

Two case study evaluations of an arts-based social skills intervention for adolescents with childhood brain disorder.

Objective: Arts-based programmes have been shown to be useful for individuals with disturbances in cognitive and behavioural functioning. The current case studies examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a theatre skills training programme to facilitate social skills and participation for adolescents with childhood brain disorder.

Methods: A case study approach was used with two adolescent participants.

An investigation of the effects of sports-related concussion in youth using functional magnetic resonance imaging and the head impact telemetry system.

One of the most commonly reported injuries in children who participate in sports is concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Children and youth involved in organized sports such as competitive hockey are nearly six times more likely to suffer a severe concussion compared to children involved in other leisure physical activities. While the most common cognitive sequelae of mTBI appear similar for children and adults, the recovery profile and breadth of consequences in children remains largely unknown, as does the influence of pre-injury characteristics (e.

From health care to home community: an Aboriginal community-based ABI transition strategy.

Primary Objective: To explore the barriers and enablers surrounding the transition from health care to home community settings for Aboriginal clients recovering from acquired brain injuries (ABI) in northwestern Ontario.

Research Design: Participatory research design using qualitative methods.

Methods: Focus groups conducted with clients with ABI, their caregivers and hospital and community health-care workers.

Community integration interventions for youth with acquired brain injuries: a review.

Objective: To identify and summarize published literature that examined the effectiveness of social and community integration interventions for children and adolescents with ABI in order to provide recommendations regarding future research on this topic.

Methods: A literature review was conducted to identify studies that focused on social and community integration interventions for youth with ABI. Further manual searching of relevant journals with a paediatric rehabilitation focus was also carried out.

Sensory processing and adaptive behavior deficits of children across the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder continuum.

Background: Prenatal alcohol exposure can have detrimental effects on a child's development of adaptive behaviors necessary for success in the areas of academic achievement, socialization, and self-care. Sensory processing abilities have been found to affect a child's ability to successfully perform adaptive behaviors. The current study explored whether significant differences in sensory processing abilities, adaptive behavior, and neurocognitive functioning are observed between children diagnosed with partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (pFAS), Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND), or children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol (PEA), but did not meet criteria for an FASD diagnosis.