Palin parent-child interaction therapy with children with autism spectrum disorder and stuttering.

INTRODUCTION: It is estimated that 8% of children who stutter (CWS) have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Briley & Ellis (2018). There is evidence that interventions for CWS and interventions for children with ASD can be effective, but there is little evidence to guide clinical decision making when working with CWS with a co-existing diagnosis of ASD. Palin Parent-Child Interaction (PCI) therapy Kelman & Nicholas (2020) is an evidence-based intervention for CWS, with the authors suggesting that the approach may be beneficial for CWS with ASD. The aim of this study was to examine outcomes for three CWS with ASD who received Palin PCI at a specialist centre for stuttering in London. METHOD: The participants were three CWS with ASD aged 4;5, 6;7 and 7;7. Assessments were administered before therapy, and then at three, six and twelve months after therapy began. Outcome measures included stuttering frequency, child's communication attitude, parents' perception of the impact of stuttering on the child, the severity of stuttering and its impact on the parents, and parents' knowledge and confidence in managing stuttering. RESULTS: All three children showed improvement in three or more variables. Four out of five parents reported reduced impact of stuttering on the child and themselves following therapy, and change was maintained one year post-therapy. All five parents reported increased knowledge of stuttering and confidence in managing it after therapy, and four parents maintained these changes for a year. CONCLUSIONS: Over a one year period, these CWS with ASD who received Palin PCI showed change across multiple variables. The observed increases in parent knowledge and confidence were comparable to previously published data. These preliminary findings suggest that CWS with ASD and their parents can benefit from Palin PCI therapy and that further experimental evaluation of this approach with this client group is indicated.

Hearing Impairment in Municipal Refuse and Glass Recycling Collection Operatives.

Several international regulatory bodies and researchers have identified employees in the municipal refuse and recycling industry as potentially at risk of noise induced hearing loss. Whilst materials recycling facilities have been subject to research regarding the health effects of hazardous exposures, the roadside recycling collection aspects of the industry has been identified as requiring further investigation. The requirement for characterization of such risk has been increased in the European Union by legislation that has led to increased rates of municipal recycling in the waste disposal industry. In particular, the introduction of glass recycling collection rounds over recent years, alongside long-established refuse collection activities, has given rise to possible further increased levels of industrial noise exposure, beyond that of refuse collection alone. This cross-sectional study describes hearing threshold categorization in 201 male full-time refuse collection workers, most of whom had many years of employment in municipal refuse collection, and all of whom, in the 3-4 years preceding the study, had commenced a work pattern of alternating weeks of municipal glass recycling collection and refuse collection. During this period there was no compulsory use of personal hearing protective equipment. No excess of hearing loss was found in this group, irrespective of years in refuse collection duties or when compared with those studied with additional responsibilities as a driver of refuse wagons (a task not considered to lead to excessive noise exposure). Further research into hearing loss in such employees is merited, given the short time period of exposure to noise from glass collection, but the possible benefit of undertaking detailed full shift personal noise exposure in this group is proposed.

Navigator Role for Promoting Adaptive Sports and Recreation Participation in Individuals With Disabilities.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to gain a better understanding of the resources, barriers, and facilitators of participation in adaptive sport and recreational activities as a means of achieving physical activity recommendations in individuals with disability and to understand preferences for a patient navigator service to help mitigate the barriers. DESIGN: Clinical, academic, and community stakeholders applied a community-engaged research approach to develop online surveys and focus group questions for adults with a disability or parents of a child with a disability to meet study objectives. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-eight adults and 146 parents completed the online surveys. Sixteen adults and 18 parents took part in focus groups. Many participants lacked knowledge of available adaptive sport and recreational resources; other barriers were expense, limited number of trained volunteers, and need for instruction. Conversely, persons were facilitated by community, socialization, and words of encouragement/motivation. Participants strongly preferred a patient navigator to be a person active in adaptive sport and recreational or an informative resource-filled website. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that physical activity programs including adaptive sport and recreational should be designed to offer people with disabilities opportunities to build social networks and strengthen social support. A patient navigator service could help increase participation in adaptive sport and recreational and physical activity within a community context.