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Person‐centred care, with its central focus on the patient in partnership with healthcare practitioners, is considered to be the contemporary gold standard of care. This type of care implies effective communication from and by both the patient and the healthcare practitioner. This is often problematic in the case of the paediatric population, because of the many communicative challenges that may arise due to the child's developmental level, illness and distress, linguistic competency and disabilities. The principle of universal design put forth in conventions and legislation means that the design of products and services should be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible. Augmentative and alternative communication encompasses strategies, for example pictures and apps, that are typically used with people with communication disability. In this position paper, we argue for the universal use of augmentative and alternative communication to support person‐centred communication and care for children, regardless of age or potential disability. Clinical examples are shared from three different paediatric care settings where pictorial supports were applied universally. Interviews were conducted with children and adolescents (with and without disabilities), parents and healthcare practitioners, and the principles of universal design were used as a framework to demonstrate how person‐centred communication is supported in paediatric care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women usually have more complex mobilities than men do, not least if having young children in need of mobility provision. Moreover, travelling can be more challenging if having a disability, and parents of disabled children usually face many constraints in relation to everyday mobility, which implies that mothers of disabled children might experience gender-disability intersectionality in relation to mobility. This paper is based on interviews with mothers with wheelchair-using children living in Sweden and explores intersectionality from a family perspective – gender of the mother and disability of a child. The paper is based on time geography, especially focusing on the competition between time-geographical projects in everyday life. The findings suggest that gender-disability intersectionality affect the mothers' geographical freedom and can imply both increased mobility and immobility in their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various models of specialized foster care have been developed, but research on them is limited. This longitudinal, exploratory study analysed data on adaptive functioning, emotional and social problems and self‐concept in a specialized foster care service in Sweden. The focus of the study was on the development of the children and young people in placement. The Adaptive Behaviour Assessment System (ABAS‐II) was used to measure adaptive functioning, and the Beck Youth Inventories of Emotional and Social Impairment (BYI) was used to measure self‐rated emotional and social problems and self‐concept. Self‐ratings showed significant improvements in disruptive behaviour, anger, anxiety and depression. Adaptive functioning as rated by foster parents improved but not enough to catch up with the non‐clinical norm group. The average adaptive functioning among the participants at baseline was considerably below the Swedish norm group. Similar to the results of a previous study of the same treatment model, children and young people rated improvement while their foster parents did not do so to the same extent. Possible explanations for this are discussed in the paper. The study is limited by the lack of a control group and by data attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess a total population of school‐age children with cerebral palsy (CP) for autism and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with a view to determining their prevalence and to relate findings to motor function, intellectual disability, and other associated impairments. Method: Of 264 children, born between 1999 and 2006, from the CP register of western Sweden, 200 children (109 males, 91 females, median age at assessment 14y, range 7–18y) completed comprehensive screening and further neuropsychiatric clinical assessments. Results: Ninety children (45%) were diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or both, 59 (30%) were diagnosed with autism, and 60 (30%) were diagnosed with ADHD. Intellectual disability was present in 51%. Two‐thirds had autism, ADHD, and/or intellectual disability. In regression models, autism was mainly predicted by intellectual disability (odds ratio [OR]=4.1) and ADHD (OR=3.2), and ADHD was predicted by intellectual disability (OR=2.3) and autism (OR=3.0). Autism was more common in children born preterm (OR=2.0). Gross motor function was not associated with autism. ADHD prevalence was low in children with severe motor impairment, possibly due to diagnostic limitations. Interpretation: Autism and ADHD were common in this population of children with CP and were mainlyindependent of motor severity and CP type. The strongest predictor of autism/ADHD was intellectual disability. Assessment for autism and ADHD is warranted as part of the evaluation in CP. What this paper adds: Forty‐five percent of the children with cerebral palsy also had autism, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or both.Autism and ADHD were predicted mainly by intellectual disability.Established diagnostic instruments worked well for all but the most disabled group of children. What this paper adds: Forty‐five percent of the children with cerebral palsy also had autism, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or both.Autism and ADHD were predicted mainly by intellectual disability.Established diagnostic instruments worked well for all but the most disabled group of children. This article is commented on by Gecz and Berry on pages 247–248 of this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper1 presents a study of children's use of fingerspelling. It is part of a larger longitudinal ethnographic study of deaf2 children, who were 3-6 years old when the study started. They are early signers using Swedish Sign Language in communication with teachers and peers. The aim of this paper is to examine the different functions which fingerspelling has as a part of literacy learning in the early years and later at school. Six main themes are identified when the children first explore and learn to fingerspell: (i) exploring handshapes, letters, inventing fingerspelling, and later exploring its use and learning to fingerspell in literacy practices; (ii) exploring the direction of writing and fingerspelling; (iii) practising and memorizing words; (iv) decoding words; (v) recalling from memory; and (vi) fingerspelling as a tool for exploring the relationships; between letters, words, signs, mouth movements, and voice. These aspects of children's fingerspelling and their possible implications are addressed, as are some findings regarding how teachers respond to the children's attempts at fingerspelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To describe a concept for prevention of secondary conditions in individuals with chronic neuromuscular disabilities by using two Swedish developed follow-up-programmes for cerebral palsy (CP; CPUP) and myelomeningocele (MMC; MMCUP) respectively as examples. Method: This paper describes and outlines the rationale, development and implementation of CPUP and MMCUP. Results: Both programmes are multidisciplinary longitudinal follow-up programmes that simultaneously serve as national registries. The programmes are population-based and set in Swedish habilitation clinics. Most children (95%) born 2000 or later with CP are enrolled in CPUP and the recruitment of adults is underway. CPUP has also been implemented in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Scotland and parts of Australia. In MMCUP, almost all children with MMC born 2007 or later participate and individuals of all ages are now invited. The registries provide epidemiological profiles associated with CP and MMC and platforms for population-based research and quality of care improvement. Conclusions: Through multidisciplinary follow-up and early detection of emerging complications individuals with CP or MMC can receive less complex and more effective interventions than if treatment is implemented at a later stage. Possibilities and challenges to design, implement and continuously run multidisciplinary secondary prevention follow-up programmes and quality registries for individuals with CP or MMC are described and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A child's disability, long-term illness, or mental ill-health is known to affect siblings' health, social life, school engagement, and quality of life. This article addresses a research gap by its focus on young sibling carers and the impact of providing care to a sibling. A cross-national survey study was conducted in 2018–2019 (Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK) to examine the incidence of adolescent sibling carers, the extent of care they provide, and their self-reported health, well-being, and school situation. The survey was completed by 7146 adolescents, aged 15–17, and 1444 of them provided care to family members with health-related conditions. Out of these, 286 were identified as Sibling Carers and 668 as Parent Carers, while 181 had both sibling(s) and parent(s) with health-related conditions, and thus were identified as Sibling–Parent Carers. Sibling Carers and Sibling–Parent Carers carried out higher levels of caring activities compared to Parent Carers. They reported both positive aspects of caring, such as increased maturity, and negative aspects, such as mental ill-health, impact on schooling and a lack of support. To reduce the negative aspects of a sibling carer role, it is important to recognise them and to implement early preventive measures and formal support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a conversation-analysis case study of interaction between a child with cerebral palsy and an adult using a computer-based voice output communication aid (VOCA) device with a touch-sensitive screen-input system. Data was collected from video recordings of everyday activities at school. The public nature of the VOCA-mediated turn construction process (hand movements towards the screen, on-screen folder navigation, synthetic speech) displays the projection of the turn under way and its possible continuations. The adult interlocutor orients to such projections when contributing to the topic of the ongoing turn and when initiating repair on its topical development. Contributing may activate the AAC user's further involvement in the ongoing turn, while repair may restrict the AAC user's influence on the topical progression. The findings are relevant for clinical assessment and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to contribute knowledge about challenges to literacy development in a digitalised learning environment, with focus on pupils in need of special support. The paper is based on a section of my doctoral thesis (Forsling, 2017), centring on how digital learning environments and situations were designed and orchestrated in a Swedish lower primary school with the aim to provide all pupils, including children in need of special support, with optimal opportunities for literacy development. The theoretical and methodological framework is grounded in design-oriented theories, with emphasis on how design and orchestration make affordances for learning and meaning-making. The ethnographically inspired study is based on observations and interviews at one school in Sweden. Six teachers, one special needs teacher and one literacy-developer participated in the study. The results show that the teachers' intentions with their designs for learning focused on children in need of special support. From a special education perspective, this is a relational and democratic approach - an intention to close gaps. Nevertheless, the results manifest a parallelism where two special education perspectives appeared side by side. On one hand, the teachers' relational perspective, and on the other hand, the special need teachers' compensatory perspective. Another result indicates that the unequal allocation of digital tools displayed the school's inadequate fulfilment of its mandate to provide equal education: there were differences between the preschool- class and the lower primary classes, and differences between pupils' home circumstances and the preschool- class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary Swedish school the model student should be able to take responsibility for and carry out her/his schoolwork autonomously. Free choices in education have also increased, and equality in this context is no longer, as before, synonymous with the standardization of schooling. The abandoning of the national timetable for a trial period in a large number of Swedish schools was representative of these tendencies. Another guiding principle for policy-makers is the formation of an inclusive school, where every student is able to experience participation and community, as well as having the chance to learn. This paper focuses on students with special educational needs in four schools that have abandoned the national timetable for a trial period of five years. Is the pedagogical process in these schools productive or counterproductive as regards the aim of creating truly inclusive educational environments? Which students are able to meet the required standards of self-discipline, responsibility and autonomy, and which are not? Such questions relate, among other things, to students' ability to carry out schoolwork in the time allotted, make good use of time, etc. Special education teachers and students have been interviewed regarding these questions. The students were divided into groups according to whether or not, in the opinion of their teachers, they made good use of their time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with disabilities have an increased risk of mental health problems. Patterns of mental health problems and well-being may vary. Aims: To identify patterns of mental health problems and well-being in children with disabilities in Sweden, and investigate the influence of parental background (migration, education), and child cognitive level. Method: In this cross-sectional study, cluster analysis was used to analyse parents' ratings of conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and prosocial behaviour on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in children with disabilities (n = 136). The influence of parental background (migration, education) and child cognitive level on cluster membership was explored through multinomial logistic regression. Results: Five clusters of mental health patterns emerged. Three clusters had mean ratings near or past clinical cut-off for one each of the SDQ-subscales. One cluster had difficulties on all three subscales. Greater child cognitive difficulties increased the likelihood of low prosocial behaviour (OR 2.501, p <.001) and of difficulties on all three subscales (OR 2.155, p =.006). Parental background did not influence cluster membership. Conclusion: Children with disabilities display varying mental health patterns. Awareness of the complexity of mental health patterns among children with disabilities is important. Screening and support for emotional symptoms and prosocial behaviour deficits should be considered for children with conduct problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to investigate how children's care responsibility is recognised in records of personal assistance carried out by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA). The article consists of document analysis, examining how caring activities are made visible in the records, and professionals' views and actions regarding responsibilities placed on children. Data consist of 100 cases randomly selected from the SSIA register amongst applicants with children, focusing on parents' descriptions of their needs, the public officials' assessments, and statements from professionals. Recurring themes related to young carers were developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP) is a structured observation instrument. It has been developed to support high-quality early childhood inclusion of children with special educational needs and disabilities. The aim of this study is to examine the cultural validity of the instrument in Swedish preschools and to investigate its perceived usefulness in a Swedish preschool context. Ten special educators, who conducted professional dialogues with preschool teachers and other preschool staff members in a Swedish municipality, were enrolled. The instrument was compared with the Swedish national curriculum for the preschool, and the perceptions of special educators were collected by way of dialogue seminar method. Thematic analyses were conducted. The results of the study show that the instrument, with few exceptions, is valid in Sweden, and that the instrument can be useful for special educators conducting professional dialogues about early childhood inclusion with preschool teachers and other preschool staff members. The study has relevance for those who work with early childhood inclusion in Sweden as well as elsewhere, and for those who plan to validate the instrument and investigate its perceived usefulness in a context pertinent to them. High-quality inclusion is on the agenda in many nations, and a Sustainable Development Goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Participation comprises attendance and involvement in everyday situations. Picture My Participation (PmP) is an instrument intended to measure participation in children with disabilities, particularly in low and middle income countries. Aim: To investigate content validity and usefulness of PmP for measuring participation in children with intellectual disability (ID) in South Africa and Sweden. Methods: A picture supported interview with 149 children, 6–18 years, with and without ID. Twenty everyday activities were provided. The three most important activities were selected by the child. Attendance was rated on all activities. Involvement was rated on the most important. Results: All activities were selected as important by at least one child with ID in both countries. There were similarities in perceived importance between the children with and without ID from South Africa. The children from South Africa with ID were the only subgroup that used all scale points for rating attendance and involvement. Conclusion: The 20 selected activities of PmP were especially relevant for children with ID in South Africa. The usefulness of the scales was higher for the children with ID in both countries. PmP is promising for assessing participation across different settings but psychometrical properties and clinical utility need further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined speech and language pathologists' (SLPs') perceptions and practices of communication partner training with high-tech speech generating devices (SGDs). Method: Fifteen SLPs were recruited throughout Sweden. The SLPs answered a study-specific questionnaire on communication partner training in relation to communication partners to children with severe cerebral palsy and intellectual disability. The results were analysed with descriptive statistics (closed-ended questions, responses on Likert scales) and content analysis (open-ended question) using ICF-CY. Results: Twelve SLPs completed the survey. Half had no or one training session with communication partners in the last year. One-third never used documents for goal-setting. Half seldom or never taught communication partner strategies. Three quarters only used verbal instructions. The main obstacles were environmental factors. Conclusions: This study contributes valuable knowledge about high-tech SGD interventions targeting communication partners. The high-tech SGD intervention may benefit from goal-setting, extended number of training sessions and a range of instructional approaches. Speech and language pathologist (SLPs) reported that children with severe cerebral palsy and intellectual disability (SSPI) can benefit from speech generating device (SGD) communication. Communication partner strategies and goal-setting supports the development of communication with SGD. SLPs seldom taught stakeholder communication partner strategies and instruments for goal-setting. Because stakeholders may vary in their way of learning SLPs need to use a variety of instructional approaches. SLPs used few instructional approaches, typically verbal information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To culturally adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) for use by caregivers of Swedish children with and without disabilities, aged 2-5 years. Methods: Thirteen cognitive interviews and two focus groups with caregivers of children with and without disabilities were conducted to evaluate the cultural relevance of YC-PEM content for use in Sweden. Per participant feedback, a revised version of the Swedish YC-PEM was created and pilot tested with caregivers of children with disabilities (n = 11) and children with typical development (n = 22). Results: User feedback informed content revisions to 7% of items. Internal consistency estimates of the Swedish YC-PEM pilot version were acceptable and ranged from.70 to.92 for all but two of the YC-PEM scales. Mean percentage agreement between raters ranged from 47% to 93% across YC-PEM scales for inter-rater, and 44% to 86% for test-retest. One of twelve YC-PEM scales revealed significant group differences between young children with and without disabilities. Conclusions: This study contributes preliminary evidence for the use of some scales within a culturally adapted YC-PEM in Sweden. Further validation with larger samples will allow for parametric testing to evaluate its psychometric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To analyse whether there are differences in mental health among adolescents with and without various kinds of impairments, taking into account the number of impairments and gender. Methods: Data from the study Life & Health – Young People conducted in a Swedish county in 2011 was used. The survey included all students in grades 7 (13–14 years) and 9 (15–16 years) in compulsory school and grade 2 (17–18 years) in upper secondary school; there were 7793 respondents (81.0%). The students answered a questionnaire anonymously during school hours. Various measures of mental health were assessed in the groups: hard of hearing, visual impairment, motor impairment, difficulties in reading/writing/dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactive disorder/attention deficit disorder, other impairment, no impairment. Results: Of the studied impairments, difficulties in reading/writing/dyslexia are the most common (6.3%), followed by hard of hearing (5.4%). To have at least one impairment is more common among boys (18.2%) than girls (15.4%). In the impairment group, 21.5% have multiple impairments. Adolescents with impairments have worse mental health than those without, and those with multiple impairments have particularly higher odds ratio to have worse mental health. There are also differences in mental health between number and various kinds of impairments and between girls and boys. Conclusion: Adolescents with impairments, particularly girls and those with multiple impairments, have considerably worse mental health than others. These inequalities in health are an immense challenge, not only for those directly involved with the impaired: they affect everyone involved with the goal health equity for the whole population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities ( PIMD) demand intense family accommodations from birth and onwards. This study used an exploratory and qualitative study design to investigate stability and change in sustainability of daily routines and social networks of Swedish families of children with PIMD. Materials and methods Eight families participated over two years in eco-cultural family interviews and social networks interviews collected at home visits. Data were analyzed descriptively and by manifest contents analysis. Results Results showed variations in sustainability of daily routines over time across families. The sustainability was linked to fathers' involvement, couples' connectedness and emotional support. Stability and change of social networks were characterized by low overlap between the child and family networks, the children's communicative dependency and low density of able communication partners. Conclusions The results indicate that patterns of stability and change were linked both to family resources and child characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In habilitation centres staff meet children with different impairments, children who need extensive support and training while growing up. A prevailing biomedical view of the body in habilitation services is gradually becoming supplemented by a perspective on the body as constantly involved in experiencing and communicating, the latter involving also the bodies of the therapists. Investigating body experience in habilitation staff in their encounters with the children may provide concepts that make it easier to reflect on what is going on in the interaction. When shared among larger number of peers and supported by further research in the field, reflected body experience may become a substantial aspect of professional selfknowledge. Our aim with this study was to contribute to the understanding of what it means to be a body for other bodies in the specific relational context of child habilitation, and more specifically to investigate what role the therapists' body experience may play for professional awareness and practice. In the study, five physiotherapists and three special-education teachers spoke of physical and emotional closeness (the body as affection) but also of a provoking closeness (the body as provoked) with the children and of how their own body experience made them more attentive to the children's experience (the body as reference). Situations that included bodily limitations (the body as restriction) were described, as were situations where the body came into focus through the gazes of others or one's own (the body as observed). The body was described as a flexible tool (the body as tool), and hands were given an exclusive position as a body part that was constantly communicating. Three shifts of intentionality that form a comprehensive structure for this body experience were discerned. When professional reflection is evoked it may further body awareness, deepen reflection in practice and strengthen intercorporeality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an assistive technology (AT) intervention to improve the use of available computers as assistive technology in educational tasks for students with physical disabilities during an ongoing school year. Methods: Fifteen students (aged 12-18) with physical disabilities, included in mainstream classrooms in Sweden, and their teachers took part in the intervention. Pre-, post-, and follow-up data were collected with Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), a computer usage diary, and with the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS). Teachers' opinions of goal setting were collected at follow-up. Results: The intervention improved the goal-related computer usage in educational tasks and teachers reported they would use goal setting again when appropriate. At baseline, students reported a positive impact from computer usage with no differences over time regarding the PIADS subscales independence, adaptability, or self-esteem. Discussion: The AT intervention showed a positive effect on computer usage as AT in mainstream schools. Some additional support to teachers is recommended as not all students improved in all goal-related computer usage. A clinical implication is that students' computer usage can be improved and collaboratively established computer-based strategies can be carried out by teachers in mainstream schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The complexity of the Child and Youth version of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, the ICF-CY, is a challenge for occupational therapists and other professionals in clinical work. Code sets including only essential categories help to make it more user-friendly. Thus far, code sets have been developed to reflect functioning for children in different developmental periods. However, there are no code sets that support screening of participation in everyday life situations and can be used across diagnoses. This exploratory study is the first attempt to develop code sets for preschoolers' (age 0-6 years) everyday life situations. Method: Using sequential Delphi processes with expert panels consisting of 35 professionals in five interdisciplinary early intervention teams and six parents of children, the study identified content in three code sets: Sleeping, Mealtimes and Play. Results: A limited number of relevant categories were identified for three code sets: Sleeping (12), Mealtimes (21) and Play (30). Findings suggested a professional focus on Environmental factors compared with a parental focus on Body functions. Conclusion: It is important to consider the opinions of all involved when developing code sets to provide a common framework for screening of children's everyday functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the reliability of the disabled children's quality-of-life measure (DISABKIDS) chronic generic questionnaire and diabetes module in children. The questionnaire is being evaluated for repeated routine health-related quality-of-life (HrQoL) assessment and in association with the Swedish national paediatric diabetes registry (Swediabkids), which is a tool for regular clinical use. Methods: Children and parents completed the questionnaire during a routine visit to the diabetes clinic. In total, 120 families completed the test and retest. Split-half reliability correlation and intraclass correlation (ICC) coefficients were calculated. Bland & Altman plots were calculated on the generic HRQoL domain. Results: Both child and parent versions showed good internal consistency. Test-retest ICC coefficients for the generic HrQoL module were 0.913 for the children and 0.820 for the parent version. All generic domains independently showed good reliability. The diabetes module had a score of 0.855 for children and 0.823 for parents. Split-half correlation for generic and diabetes modules was 0.930 and 0.848 for children, 0.953 and 0.903 for parents. Bland and Altman plots showed substantial agreement between the two administrations for both children and parents. Conclusion: The DISABKIDS questionnaire is a reliable instrument for the repeated measurements of HrQoL in children with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: A vast majority of the journeys made by children with disabilities in Sweden are in the family car, which usually is bought and adapted for the child with governmental subsidies. Despite the important philosophical views about accessible vehicles, little is known about the impact of vehicle adaptations on families' lives. The aim of the study was to investigate parent views about the impact of vehicle grants and vehicle adaptation grants on their children's transport mobility and community access. Methods: In total, 434 parents of children with disabilities in Sweden who had received vehicle grants and/or vehicle adaptation grants between 1998-2007 responded to a questionnaire comprising questions with both pre-selected and open-ended answers. A non-responder analysis was performed. Results: Children with disabilities were found to increase their transport mobility and community access in society as vehicle grants and/or vehicle adaptation grants were given to their parents. Their travel patterns and their travel priorities with their family car indicated that family friends and relatives and leisure activities were frequently visited and prioritised destinations. The grants were linked to access to social and family activities, provided environmental gains and led to increased experienced security. The results also showed that the potential to make spontaneous trips had increased substantially and that families experienced feelings of freedom and enhanced community access. The non-responder analysis confirmed these results. Conclusions: According to parents, vehicle grants and vehicle adaptation grants for children with disabilities have a positive impact on the children's transport mobility and community access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using semi-structured interviews this study investigated the personal experiences of parents of pre-school children with intellectual disabilities within the Swedish social support system. Thirteen parents of 10 children participated. Interview transcripts were qualitatively analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three themes emerged: orchestrating formal support; early intervention; and informal support. Parents described orchestrating different organisations within the formal support system and thinking through how they articulated their needs in order to obtain desired supports. Syndrome specific parental groups provided information which parents used to obtain support from the municipality and/or habilitation. The importance of adapting early intervention to both child and family needs is highlighted. The implications of these findings from a family-centred perspective are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intervention studies show that if children with disabilities play motion-controlled TV and computer games for training purposes their motivation increases and their training becomes more intensive, but why this happens has not been explained. This article addresses this question with the help of ethnographic material from a public project in Sweden. By applying interactional constructionism to detailed instances of play situations, the article specifies the social dynamics as well as identificatory attractions of these games for children with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The risk of developing a negative attitude to communication as a consequence of having a speech disorder has been in focus for decades in research concerning fluency disorders in relation to both children and adults. The Communication Attitude Test (CAT), which was created to measure children's attitudes towards their own communication, has been widely used. Research has shown that children who stutter have a significantly more negative attitude to their own communication than normal-speaking children and preliminary results show a similar picture in children with other types of speech disorders. However, the setting for obtaining data on normal-speaking children often differs from that on children with speech disorders. In order to make a significant interpretation of results from children with a speech disorder, comparable data on normal-speaking children are needed. Aims: The main purpose of this study was to obtain norm values for the Swedish version of the test (CAT-S) and examine possible differences related to age, sex or small town/big city. A second aim was to investigate some aspects of reliability, such as internal consistency, and validity in terms of item analysis as well as a qualitative analysis of the answers to the different items. In addition, group setting was compared with individual setting for the test procedure. Methods & Procedures: CAT-S was completed in a group setting by 220 normal-speaking children aged 7-15 years and by an additional group of 35 normal-speaking 10-year-old children who completed the test individually. Outcomes & Results: The 220 Swedish children had a mean score of 6.05 (a slightly higher mean score have been found in other countries, i.e. Belgium = 7.05 and USA = 8.24). The 7-year-olds had a significantly higher mean score than children at the other ages, except for the 15-year-olds. No other differences were found related to age, sex or size of community. The aspects of reliability and validity investigated for the CAT-S were satisfactory. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between the groups of 10-year-olds objected to different test procedures. Conclusions & Implications: The norm values of CAT-S could be used for comparison of scores from Swedish children with speech disorders. The CAT-S is easy to administer and could be used either in a group setting for research purpose or individually at the clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the initiative of the Government of the People's Republic of China, a letter of intent concerning a joint undertaking for studying children with intellectual disability in China was formulated together with the Swedish Government's Ministry of Social Affairs in the early 1990s. The Swedish Board of Health and Welfare invited Uppsala University to set up a consulting team through the Centre for Disability Research. On the Chinese side, the task was given to China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), whose overriding task is the representation of and guarding the legal rights of persons with disabilities. Under the auspice of the CDPF, researchers from China and Sweden jointly identified three areas of work: iodine deficiency, developmental screening, and rehabilitation. This article describes the project's activities within the Sino-Swedish Project, initiated in 1995. The Sino-Swedish Project was implemented in the least developed and consequently poorest western/northwestern interior parts of the country and overall work was carried out on a county-level (i.e., target areas were predominately rural albeit located in townships and villages). The experiences gained have formed the basis for further implementation throughout the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study had three objectives. One was to compare the needs, resources and supports perceived as available and needed by 32 parents of children with mild to moderate intellectual impairments, educated in self-contained special education classes (SCS), and 46 parents of children with general special needs educated in regular classes. A second objective was to compare these perceptions to the rated degree of pupil impairment. The third objective was to examine the applicability of two surveys. Results revealed that parents perceived strong informational needs regardless of educational setting, though the parents of children in the SCS group expressed stronger informational needs. Parents of children in the SCS group tended to be more satisfied with their relationship with schools than parents in the comparison group. Child impairments in the areas of social skills, behaviour, communication, and thinking and reasoning were highly correlated with parental needs and parental perception of school supports and resources. Factors influencing parental self-efficacy are discussed and recommendations are made for enhancing parental involvement in the child's education. Suggestions are also made for utilizing information derived from this study when planning the implementation of inclusive schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]