Browsing by Subject "developmental delay"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Best Practices for Visual Processing Deficits in Early Intervention Identified Through Advancement of Clinical Skills and Dissemination of Information
    (2025) Brubaker, Zoe; Belkiewitz, Johhna; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Daniel , Jessica
    Vision plays a critical role in a child’s learning and engagement with their environment, daily activities, and play. Occupational therapists contribute to visual processing in early intervention by addressing sensory processing through education, intervention, and collaboration. Research has shown that children with visual processing difficulties often experience developmental delays that affect their occupational performance. Barriers to identifying these difficulties include a lack of parental education on vision-specific skills and limited occupational therapy training on visual processing conditions, symptoms, treatment options, and referral processes. This capstone project involved collaboration with two sites to connect the expertise of teachers of blind and low-vision students with occupational therapy outreach in Indianapolis. The project aimed to educate caregivers and providers on visual processing in early intervention and foster relationships between organizations for improved collaboration. Results indicate that mentors were satisfied with the implemented handouts and recognized the value of making these resources accessible within the site’s virtual platform.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Brief Report: Pediatrician Referral Practices for Early Self-injury in Young Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
    (Springer, 2023-02) Fodstad, Jill Cherie; Gonzalez , Alexus M.; Barber , McKenzie; Curtin, Michelle; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and quality of primary care physician (PCP) recommendations to investigate the management of young children with delays and self-injury (SIB; e.g., head banging) from the time of initial SIB concern to specialty referral as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Via a structured electronic health record review, PCP referrals and recommendations were examined for a cohort of 250 children (10–59 months old) with delays and SIB. Only a small portion of cohort charts reviewed (8.0%) received AAP recommended intervention via referral to subspecialty providers by their PCP. Further, only 37.5% received SIB-specific care recommendations. Findings suggest that future targeted education is needed to improve primary care access to AAP recommended intervention for young children with delays and early SIB.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Childcare providers’ attitudes, knowledge, and practice related to developmental monitoring to promote early identification and referral
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019) Chödrön, Gail; Pizur-Barnekow, Kris; Viehweg, Stephan; Puk-Ament, Alexandra; Barger, Brian; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Although intervening early can improve child and family outcomes when a child has a developmental disability, most children with developmental delays are not identified prior to school entry. Childcare professionals can play a key role in identifying delays early. The developmental monitoring attitudes, knowledge, and practice of childcare providers in the United States are described based on survey data. Findings indicate that childcare providers commonly monitor development but may do so in ways that are better suited to providing care than to identifying risk for developmental disability. Most providers identify early intervention/early childhood special education programmes as a place to refer for developmental concerns, while not identifying referral to the doctor unless prompted to consider the doctor’s role. Overall, these findings suggest childcare providers may be well poised to identify delays and make referrals early through developmental monitoring but need additional knowledge and tools to do so effectively.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Effect of Caregiver Education Materials on Faculty Preparedness and Confidence
    (2023-05-11) Kendall, Mary; DeRolf, Annie; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Threewits, Whitney
    A child’s primary occupation is play. Participation in play is crucial for skill development, including fine motor, gross motor, communication, cognition, attention, and social skills. These skills can aid the child through role transitions, such as the role of a student, where they can support classroom participation and success. In a preschool located in the south-central part of Marion County, faculty identified that out of 157 Burmese students enrolled in 2021, 40 were diagnosed with either Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or developmental delay with characteristics of ASD (S. Keller, personal communication). During the needs assessment process of the doctoral capstone, decreased preparedness, lack of time, and lack of resources were identified by faculty as barriers to addressing developmental delays with refugee learners’ caregivers. Research supports the use of caregiver education, community programming, and communication between teachers and caregivers to improve executive function, play skills, and learning in students. The purpose of the capstone project was to increase faculty preparedness and confidence in discussing developmental delays and at-home skill development with caregivers. The doctoral capstone student wrote and visually recorded materials that faculty can provide to caregivers; materials were translated into languages frequently used in the township to improve accessibility. The program evaluation post-survey supported the use of these materials, as faculty reported increased satisfaction with the resources available to them and increased preparedness to discuss developmental delays with caregivers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Evaluation of Race and Ethnicity Across a Statewide System of Early Autism Evaluation
    (Elsevier, 2023-03) Martin, Ann Marie; Ciccarelli, Mary R.; Swigonski, Nancy; McNally Keehn, Rebecca; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    We evaluated racial and ethnic disparities across the Early Autism Evaluation Hub system, a statewide network for autism diagnosis. Our findings suggest that this system has the potential to reduce longstanding disparities in autism spectrum disorder diagnosis for children from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Patients With Extreme Early Onset Juvenile Huntington Disease Can Have Delays in Diagnosis: A Case Report and Literature Review
    (SAGE, 2021-01-01) Moeller, Ashley A.; Felker, Marcia V.; Brault, Jennifer A.; Duncan, Laura C.; Hamid, Rizwan; Golomb, Meredith R.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Huntington disease (HD) is caused by a pathologic cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeat expansion in the HTT gene. Typical adult-onset disease occurs with a minimum of 40 repeats. With more than 60 CAG repeats, patients can have juvenile-onset disease (jHD), with symptom onset by the age of 20 years. We report a case of a boy with extreme early onset, paternally inherited jHD, with symptom onset between 18 and 24 months. He was found to have 250 to 350 CAG repeats, one of the largest repeat expansions published to date. At initial presentation, he had an ataxic gait, truncal titubation, and speech delay. Magnetic resonance imaging showed cerebellar atrophy. Over time, he continued to regress and became nonverbal, wheelchair-bound, gastrostomy-tube dependent, and increasingly rigid. His young age at presentation and the ethical concerns regarding HD testing in minors delayed his diagnosis.