A Parent Education And Skills Training Early Intervention For Children With Autism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$305,674.00
Summary
Autism is a severely handicapping disorder adversely affecting social interaction, communication, and behaviour, interests and activities. Over the past 9 years our team has conducted a follow-up study of a large group of 111 Australian children and adolescents with autism. The young people have continued to have very high levels of emotional and behavioural disturbance and generally do not improve. Parents of children with autism are under significant amounts of stress; reporting high levels of ....Autism is a severely handicapping disorder adversely affecting social interaction, communication, and behaviour, interests and activities. Over the past 9 years our team has conducted a follow-up study of a large group of 111 Australian children and adolescents with autism. The young people have continued to have very high levels of emotional and behavioural disturbance and generally do not improve. Parents of children with autism are under significant amounts of stress; reporting high levels of disturbed family functioning and mental health problems. Although there is no cure, children benefit most when early help is provided (under 5 years). There are several promising interventions based on intensive behaviour and educational management, for example requiring 40 hours per week of therapist contact over 2 years. Such programs are costly and impractical as widely available treatment options. Training parents to understand and manage their child also shows promise. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a parent skills training and education treatment program compared to supportive therapy, and to generally available community services. The therapists will follow a treatment manual that will ensure a consistent and replicable approach. The progress of the children with autism and their families will be reassessed immediately after treatment, and at 1 and 2 years post-treatment in order to ascertain immediate and long-term effects of the treatment. If treatment proves to be of use, we will have established a defined, cost efficient, practical and effective model of early treatment that can be easily taught to professionals and widely disseminated throughout early childhood services.Read moreRead less
Early Intervention For Anxiety And Phobic Disorders In Young Children With Intellectual Disability
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$305,674.00
Summary
Children with intellectual disability (ID) are 2-3 times more likely to have behavioural and emotional disturbance, including anxiety and fears, than children of normal intellectual ability. Anxiety problems are a source of distress for the child, impair their ability to learn and are a cause of family burden and community cost. Therefore, effective interventions are urgently required. Research with non-disabled children has demonstrated the effectiveness of teaching parents to manage their chil ....Children with intellectual disability (ID) are 2-3 times more likely to have behavioural and emotional disturbance, including anxiety and fears, than children of normal intellectual ability. Anxiety problems are a source of distress for the child, impair their ability to learn and are a cause of family burden and community cost. Therefore, effective interventions are urgently required. Research with non-disabled children has demonstrated the effectiveness of teaching parents to manage their child's anxiety, however the effectiveness of this approach in children with ID has not yet been established. This project aims to compare the relative effectiveness of two intervention conditions compared to a waiting list group, for highly anxious children aged 4-7 years with ID. One intervention will teach parents to help their child deal with anxiety problems, and develop skills to overcome their own associated emotional upset and family and social problems. The other intervention will provide non-directive counselling and support to help the parents understand the nature and causes of ID, associated anxiety problems in the child, and parent and family stress. The long term outcome of these two interventions will be assessed by following the children and their families for two years. A manual of each treatment is produced. This project aims to provide evidence for a relatively inexpensive, feasible and effective early intervention program for young children with ID at risk for developing anxiety problems that can be easily taught to professionals and is acceptable to parents. Widespread use of this intervention has the potential to reduce the added burden and cost to families and the community of persistent severe anxiety in young people with ID.Read moreRead less
The BEST At Home Pragmatic Fall Prevention Program: Effectiveness, Cost Effectiveness And Implementation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,386,133.00
Summary
Falls are a major public health issue with enormous personal, social and economic consequences. Certain types of exercise can prevent falls, however new strategies are needed to implement these programs more effectively to maximise uptake and adherence by older people. Researchers in fall prevention and health promotion are partnering with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District to evaluate the fall prevention effect of the Otago Exercise Programme when implemented in a group-based worksh ....Falls are a major public health issue with enormous personal, social and economic consequences. Certain types of exercise can prevent falls, however new strategies are needed to implement these programs more effectively to maximise uptake and adherence by older people. Researchers in fall prevention and health promotion are partnering with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District to evaluate the fall prevention effect of the Otago Exercise Programme when implemented in a group-based workshop format for older community-dwelling people.Read moreRead less
How do qualifications delivered by enterprises contribute to improved skill levels and other benefits for companies, workers and the nation? This project investigates the role of employer-based qualifications training in developing the skills and prospects of the Australian workforce and the competitive capabilities of companies. It focuses on enterprises that are accredited to deliver qualifications to their own workers, providing data to improve and expand this form of training.
Identifying effective strategies to grow and sustain a professional early years workforce. The National Early Years Workforce Strategy (2012) identifies the imperative for a larger, more qualified, professional, responsive and collaborative childcare workforce. This need is urgent. By 2014, Commonwealth legislation specifies that all long day-care centres must have a qualified teacher and minimum staff qualification of Certificate III. Yet high turnover, skill loss and failure to meet existing q ....Identifying effective strategies to grow and sustain a professional early years workforce. The National Early Years Workforce Strategy (2012) identifies the imperative for a larger, more qualified, professional, responsive and collaborative childcare workforce. This need is urgent. By 2014, Commonwealth legislation specifies that all long day-care centres must have a qualified teacher and minimum staff qualification of Certificate III. Yet high turnover, skill loss and failure to meet existing qualification standards persist. Nationally, multiple strategies are being implemented to achieve the new qualification standards but there is scant evidence about their effectiveness. This project aims to identify the most effective strategies to reduce loss and increase professional engagement in the early years workforce.Read moreRead less
Embodied Virtues and Expertise. The Project will provide a theoretical framework for understanding expertise. Crucially, the framework will provide an account that explains the motivation of experts, and allows for the virtues of experts to be analysed and promoted. The framework will thus fill a perceived gap in professional pedagogical disciplines such as Education, Nursing Education, and Medicine, in which the concept of expertise is central, but for which an adequate theoretical framework of ....Embodied Virtues and Expertise. The Project will provide a theoretical framework for understanding expertise. Crucially, the framework will provide an account that explains the motivation of experts, and allows for the virtues of experts to be analysed and promoted. The framework will thus fill a perceived gap in professional pedagogical disciplines such as Education, Nursing Education, and Medicine, in which the concept of expertise is central, but for which an adequate theoretical framework of expertise is lacking. Academics and practitioners from these disciplines will participate in conferences and workshops run under the Project.Read moreRead less
Virtual Reality Training Kit for Arc Welders. The aim of this research is to develop a virtual reality training package that enables welders to obtain basic manipulative skills in a safe environment before they are exposed to additional welding hazards. The research addresses the problem of welder training in a novel manner by utilizing a virtual reality simulator to allow the welding trainee to develop his manipulative and functional skills prior to attempting real welding tasks. An additional ....Virtual Reality Training Kit for Arc Welders. The aim of this research is to develop a virtual reality training package that enables welders to obtain basic manipulative skills in a safe environment before they are exposed to additional welding hazards. The research addresses the problem of welder training in a novel manner by utilizing a virtual reality simulator to allow the welding trainee to develop his manipulative and functional skills prior to attempting real welding tasks. An additional feature of the package is the internetworking facility that will allow monitoring and feedback of results to trainers. This is an advantage especially for remote communitiesRead moreRead less
Context, Judgement and Informal Learning at Work: An Investigation of Factors Crucial for Enhancing Performance. This project investigates learning that enables people to perform well the demanding aspects of their occupations. Detailed case studies of critical incidents in a range of workplaces will be constructed and the learning or otherwise by key players involved in these incidents will be elucidated and analysed. These findings will test and refine a theory of learning at work that concept ....Context, Judgement and Informal Learning at Work: An Investigation of Factors Crucial for Enhancing Performance. This project investigates learning that enables people to perform well the demanding aspects of their occupations. Detailed case studies of critical incidents in a range of workplaces will be constructed and the learning or otherwise by key players involved in these incidents will be elucidated and analysed. These findings will test and refine a theory of learning at work that conceptualises it, at its best, as a growing capacity to make appropriate context-sensitive judgements. Developing a sound theory of workplace learning is very important because, though it is currently a major policy focus, received theories are of limited explanatory value.Read moreRead less