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This article describes the development of a Model of Care resource to support youth involved with the justice system where a neurodevelopmental disability such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is suspected. Service staff within the Youth Justice sector were engaged in an iterative process of resource development over a 9-month period.
Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions. Due to variable rates of language growth in children under 5 years, the early identification of children with DLD is challenging. Early indicators are often outlined by speech pathology regulatory bodies and other developmental services as evidence to empower caregivers in the early identification of DLD.
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of children's autism characteristics, sensory profiles and feeding difficulties on caregiver-reported impact at mealtimes.
While theory supports bidirectional effects between caregiver sensitivity and language use, and infant language acquisition-both caregiver-to-infant and also infant-to-caregiver effects-empirical research has chiefly explored the former unidirectional path. In the context of infants showing early signs of autism, we investigated prospective bidirectional associations with 6-min free-play interaction samples collected for 103 caregivers and their infants (mean age 12-months; and followed up 6-months later).
Early parent-child interactions have a critical impact on the developmental outcomes of the child. It has been reported that infants with a family history of autism and their parents may engage in different patterns of behaviours during interaction compared to those without a family history of autism. This study investigated the association of parent-child interactions with child developmental outcomes of those with typical and elevated likelihood of autism.
Parenting is a rewarding experience but is not without its challenges. Parents of Autistic children face additional challenges, and as a result can experience lower levels of wellbeing and more mental health problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). Previous studies have identified concurrent correlates of wellbeing and mental health.
Siu Min is a PhD candidate at The Kids Research Institute Australia and Edith Cowan University. Siu Min is a recipient of 2025/2026 Telethon Trust Fellowship with Child and Adolescent Community Health, for her research in nutrition in young autistic children.
Emily recently completed a two-year postdoc at Stanford University, following their PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Melbourne in 2024.
Mirko is a medically trained research-focused academic with a background in developmental psychology, psychometrics, and big data science. His research takes a life-span perspective and is driven by the urgent need to improve outcomes for people on the autism spectrum and with other neurodevelopmental and neuropsy
Occupational Therapist