TOPIC

Paediatrics research

Everything we have read on paediatrics. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

2,466 PAPERS · PAGE 48 OF 50 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTRCT2024Associations Between Sleep Health and Child Behavior at Age 6 Years in the INSIGHT Study.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPDuration and quality of sleep showed no link to behaviour; how regular the timing was did. Children whose sleep onset shifted more night to night were coded as more impulsive, and the link to poorer emotion regulation appeared only in the home safety control group.
• OTRCT2024Feasibility study of a parent-driven intervention for youth with Down syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRBoth five-session parent programmes, one behavioural and one educational, were practical to run and children's behaviour problems, irritability and hyperactivity fell over the study in both. The behavioural programme was not clearly better than the educational one. Only 20 families took part.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2023Effects of Parent-Implemented Interventions on Outcomes of Children with Autism: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disordersTraining parents to deliver autism intervention produced moderate gains in children's social skills, behaviour and communication versus usual care or waiting lists, but little improvement in daily living skills. Better-run trials showed smaller gains.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2022Calm with horses? A systematic review of animal-assisted interventions for improving social functioning in children with autism.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceHorse-based programmes were the only animal interventions with supporting evidence: most trials reported better social functioning in children with autism, but none was free of bias. The single dog-reading trial found nothing, and the dolphin programme did no better than an animal-free control.
• PTOTRCT2023Fidelity of Delivery in a Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial of Intervention Efficacy for Infants With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationTherapists delivered baby bimanual and baby constraint-induced therapy as designed in 64 of 72 recorded home sessions. All 8 lower-fidelity sessions were Baby-BIM, 6 of them from home visit 4 onwards. This shows delivery, not whether either therapy works.
• PTOTRCT2023Multisensory Stimulation and Priming (MuSSAP) in 4-10 Months Old Infants with a Unilateral Brain Lesion: A Pilot Randomised Clinical Trial.Occupational therapy internationalAdding a wristband that gave light, song and vibration to eight weeks of home hand training did not improve hand use more than the home training alone in 16 infants with a brain injury on one side. Both groups improved.
• OTMeta-Analysis2022Perinatal Physiological and Psychological Risk Factors and Childhood Sleep Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPPrenatal alcohol, tobacco and preterm birth, and depression before or after birth were each linked to more sleep problems and shorter sleep in children. Maternal anxiety, caffeine and opioid maintenance treatment were not. This is risk-factor evidence; no treatment was tested.
• OTSystematic Review2025Oral care interventions for autistic individuals: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceVisual supports such as social stories, videos and picture schedules, used before and during dental visits, were the strategies most often linked to less anxiety and better cooperation at the dentist. But only 5 of the 36 studies were judged strong on quality.
• OTRCT2025Effect of Telerehabilitation on Handwriting Performance in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial.Child: care, health and developmentEight weeks of online, therapist-led fine motor training improved handwriting and fine motor scores in 6-8 year olds with inattentive-type ADHD, with mothers helping at home. Writing rate did not improve. All 35 children finished the programme.
• PTOTRCT2025Effects of Inline Skating Exercise on Symptoms, Executive Functions, and Motor Proficiency in Children With ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Occupational therapy internationalTwelve weeks of inline skating improved ADHD symptoms, executive function and motor proficiency more than waiting did in children with ADHD, and the gains were still there at follow-up. The trial was small, the changes modest, and medication was not recorded.
• OTMeta-Analysis2025Online interventions for the mental health and well-being of parents of children with additional needs: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Australian occupational therapy journalOnline programmes improved parents' depression, stress and wellbeing when trial results were pooled, though the trials disagreed so much, especially on stress, that those pooled figures are unreliable. Only 3 of the 30 studies involved an occupational therapist.
• OTMeta-Analysis2024Cognitive-Based Interventions for Improving Psychological Health and Well-Being for Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disordersProgrammes based on CBT or mindfulness reduced parental stress, depression and anxiety in parents of children with developmental disabilities, and improved parental well-being and the parent-child relationship. Mindful parenting, mindful awareness and psychological flexibility did not improve.
• OTMeta-Analysis2021Prevalence of Decreased Sound Tolerance (Hyperacusis) in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis.Ear and hearingSound sensitivity is common in autism. Pooled across 91 samples of 13,433 people, 41.42% had current hyperacusis and 60.58% had experienced it at some point in their lives, mostly measured with parent-report interviews or questionnaires.
• PTOTCohort2026Father and Sibling Involvement in Home Rehabilitation: Longitudinal Effects on Infant Development and Maternal Wellbeing in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.Child: care, health and developmentInfants whose fathers and siblings joined the home rehabilitation programme scored 4.4 points higher on the Bayley cognitive scale after three months than those with mothers alone. Mothers' mental health improved most in the three-caregiver group. Families were not randomly assigned, so causation is unproven.
• PTOTCohort2026Diverging Paths: Longitudinal and Reciprocal Associations Between Two Fundamental Motor Skill Assessments in Preschoolers.Child: care, health and developmentAt ages 3 and 4 the two motor tests partly agreed about a child. A year later they did not: a child's score on one gave no useful clue about the other. They are not interchangeable as children get older.
• OTPilot2026Pilot Implementation of an Intervention Program to Promote Fine Motor Skills in Preschoolers: Feasibility and Acceptability.Occupational therapy international22 of 30 preschoolers with suspected fine motor delay screened as age-appropriate after a teacher-led program; 8 were unchanged. Without a control group, that cannot be credited to the program. Teachers found it easy to use and wanted activities grouped by ability, not age.
• OTQualitative2026"My Sensory Experiences Tool": A Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapeutic Tool to Support the Sensory Challenges and Preferences of Autistic Children and Adults.Occupational therapy internationalAutistic people, their families and the therapists who used this picture card-sort tool said it produced richer, more personal information about sensory experiences than standard questionnaires, and helped autistic people explain themselves to others. It has not been tested for outcomes.
• OTOther2026Examination of the Reliability and Responsiveness of a Japanese Version of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire for Children: Toward Application in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder.Occupational therapy internationalA new Japanese children's movement-imagery questionnaire mostly held up in 33 typically developing children, except its 'internal visual imagery' part, which gave inconsistent answers on repeat testing. Short ball practice improved how vividly children pictured the task, but not their overall imagery scores.
• OTSurvey2026Parental Self-Efficacy and Family Support in Oral Health and Nutrition of Children With Disabilities.Child: care, health and developmentParents felt more confident in their caregiving when they had more family support, social security and schooling, and when they felt prepared for the diagnosis. 61% of the children had had toothache; 64.6% of parents had never had oral health advice.
• OTCohort2026Exclusion From Childcare Centre Attendance in Toddler and Preschool Patients in a Psychiatric Day Clinic: Patterns From Comparison of a 2018/2019 and a 2023/2024 Cohort.Child: care, health and developmentIn one German psychiatric day clinic, 8.00% of toddlers and preschoolers were excluded from childcare in 2018/2019 against 25.49% in 2023/2024. Boys were most affected. The authors say the gap may reflect referral and diagnostic changes, not a real rise.
• OTCohort2026Long-term follow-up for mothers of children with disability after healthy mothers healthy families e-workshops.Australian occupational therapy journalMothers who attended the peer-led online programme reported more healthy activity and fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, still present 12 weeks later. With no control group and only 20 of 56 women followed up, other explanations remain.
• OTSurvey2026Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness, Knowledge, and Practice Among Australian Occupational Therapists: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Australian occupational therapy journal66.7% of these 90 Australian occupational therapists felt unprepared to raise FASD concerns with clients. Completed FASD training and prior experience with clients were linked to confidence recognising FASD; confidence in finding reliable information was not linked to feeling prepared.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Clinical Tools for Assessing One-Handed Skills in Children With Cerebral Palsy: An Umbrella Review.Occupational therapy internationalAmong 17 tools for measuring one-handed skills in children with cerebral palsy, three (PMAL-R Uswatte, COPM, ACHES) earned the highest ratings for both measurement quality and practical use in clinic.
• PTOTSystematic Review2023Active mobility, active participation: a systematic review of modified ride-on car use by children with disabilities.Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technologyChildren as young as 7 months activated modified ride-on cars, and a majority enjoyed using them. No adverse events were reported. The evidence is very weak, so treat these findings as promising rather than proven.
• OTRCT2022Evaluation of a workplace alcohol prevention program targeted on managers' inclination to initiate early alcohol intervention.Work (Reading, Mass.)A workplace alcohol prevention program made managers more confident to start a conversation about an employee's drinking and less likely to demand proof first. But it also made them more likely to insist the employee admit a problem before getting help.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2022The Short-term Effects of Hippotherapy and Therapeutic Horseback Riding on Spasticity in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Meta-analysis.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationThe meta-analysis found a significant short-term reduction in lower-limb spasticity after hippotherapy or therapeutic horseback riding in children with cerebral palsy. No difference was found between a single session and multiple sessions. The effect is temporary, not cumulative.
• OTSystematic Review2023Effectiveness of CO-OP Approach for Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationCO-OP improved children's daily activities and participation in all 19 studies that measured it, but effects on underlying motor skills were mixed. Only 6 of 20 studies reported a quantified benefit, and most used low-quality designs.
• OTMeta-Analysis2022Examining the relationship between cognitive inflexibility and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in autistic children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchGreater cognitive inflexibility in autistic children and adolescents correlates with more anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems. The association was moderate to large, consistent across studies, and not explained by age, sex, or IQ. It is correlational, not causal.
• OTRCT2025Comparison of CO-OP and goal-directed training on occupational performance and functional status in children with cerebral palsy: Three-armed randomised trial.Australian occupational therapy journalCO-OP added to standard occupational therapy outperformed both goal-directed training plus standard therapy and standard therapy alone on occupational performance and functional status in children with cerebral palsy. Goal-directed training beat standard therapy alone on performance and satisfaction but not on functional status.
• OTSystematic Review2024Exploring Therapeutic Relationships in Pediatric Occupational Therapy: A Meta-Ethnography.Canadian journal of occupational therapy. Revue canadienne d'ergotherapieChildren said the relationship means being heard, but some were told what to do. Caregivers said trust is the foundation. Therapists said they struggle to balance professional duty with the family. Power dynamics, jargon, and cultural mismatch shaped the experience.
• OTSystematic Review2025The use of multisensory environments in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMultisensory rooms showed some benefit for stereotyped behaviors and sensory responses in autistic people, but results for communication, anxiety, and disruptive behavior were mixed or null. Ten small, heterogeneous studies provide too little evidence to guide clinical decisions.
• OTRCT2025Efficacy of a prewriting intervention: A pilot randomised control trial.Australian occupational therapy journalSeventeen of the 18 kindergarten children improved their prewriting scores over time, but the group that received six weeks of extra instruction did not improve more than the waitlist group. The study was too small to detect a difference.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2023Efficacy of very early interventions on neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants and toddlers at increased likelihood of or diagnosed with autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchVery early interventions for infants and toddlers at risk of or diagnosed with autism showed little to no difference in autism symptoms, cognition, or language by age 3. A small adaptive-skills gain was found but rated very low certainty.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2025Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Child Development: A Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPOverall development showed no significant difference between pandemic and pre-pandemic children. But language and communication scores were significantly lower in pandemic-exposed children, a finding consistent across both parent reports and practitioner-administered tests.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2022Effect of Motor Intervention for Infants and Toddlers With Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationTask-specific motor training gave infants under 3 with CP a small motor advantage over standard care. CIMT did not show a clear benefit over bimanual play or infant massage. All evidence is very low quality.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2022Parent-Mediated Interventions for Infants under 24 Months at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCoaching parents of babies at risk for autism did not change whether those babies were later diagnosed, and effects on the infants' own skills were inconsistent. What did improve was how parents interacted with their baby. Present these programmes as parent support, not prevention.
• PTOTOther2026Performance outcomes of the PEDI-CAT for assessing functional ability in the population with leukodystrophy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyIn 99 people with leukodystrophy, a caregiver-reported functional assessment tracked closely with therapist-administered motor scores (0.93 gross motor, 0.94 fine motor). The authors suggest it could support remote monitoring between clinic visits.
• OTRCT2023Leveraging technology to make parent training more accessible: Randomized trial of in-person versus online executive function training for parents of autistic children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceOnline and in-person parent training for executive function in autistic children produced no difference between the two formats. Both groups showed modest improvements in parent strain and child flexibility, but planning and organization did not improve. The gains were small.
• OTSLPSurvey2026Caregiver Concerns for Children and Adolescents With Down Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study in Brazil.Child: care, health and developmentCaregivers' concerns about children and adolescents with Down syndrome did not differ by age group. The top worry across all ages was communication (76%). Among caregivers who worried about sleep, 95% also worried about behaviour.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Early Intervention Enrollment Among Substance-exposed Infants in Massachusetts: A Population-level Analysis.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPSubstance-exposed infants in Massachusetts were referred to early intervention at high rates, but only 49.5% of those referred enrolled. The gap was widest for infants without a NAS diagnosis, where 38.2% of referred children enrolled.
• OTProtocol2025Indonesian Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Sensory Processing Measure-2 (SPM-2) for Preschool Children: A Study Protocol.Occupational therapy internationalA protocol for translating a sensory processing questionnaire into Indonesian. No data collected, no results reported, nothing to act on.
• OTOther2025Racial Media Microaggressions: Impact on Black Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthIn 48 Black adolescents, daily racial media microaggressions showed no same-day or next-day association with anxiety, depression, or cannabis use. The one notable link: days above a youth's own average for microaggressions predicted higher next-day aggression.
• OTCohort2026Have children's manual dexterity skills changed in the past 40 years? A cross-sectional observational norm comparison study.Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand TherapistsChildren aged 7 to 18 scored 9.1 to 21.1 blocks fewer than the 1985 norms (males) and 11.8 to 18.9 fewer (females). The 1985 norms likely overestimate dexterity deficits. Updated norms or a different test are needed.
• OTSurvey2026Environmental Factors Associated With Preschoolers' Outdoor Play and Napping in Childcare Settings: The SUNRISE International Study.Child: care, health and development46% of early childhood centres across 27 countries reported at least one environmental factor (rain, heat, cold) keeping children indoors, and 20% reported factors disrupting naps. Barriers were more common in low-income and urban settings.
• OTSLPQualitative2026How can we improve the timeliness and quality of diagnostic assessment for children with possible autism? Qualitative findings and recommendations from a Realist Evaluation of Autism Service delivery in the United Kingdom.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParents described years of not being heard before a referral and feeling abandoned after diagnosis. Stakeholders ranked 12 service changes as most important. Support should not wait for a diagnosis to begin.
• OTQualitative2026Strengthening Community-Academic Partnerships to Enhance Care for Sickle Cell Disease.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthCommunity partners in pediatric SCD care reported that primary care providers often lack knowledge of SCD's developmental risks and that the condition doesn't automatically qualify children for early intervention. Partners recommended delivering services in schools and community settings rather than requiring clinic visits.
• PTOTPilot2026International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years (SUNRISE): A Pilot Study From Ecuador.Child: care, health and developmentOnly 11.8% of 108 Ecuadorian preschool children met all three WHO movement guidelines. Boys outperformed girls in physical activity and lower-body strength, while girls scored higher on inhibitory control. The protocol was workable in this setting.
• PTOTCohort2026Examination of occupational and physical therapists' exposure to physical risk factors in outpatient rehabilitation settings using the workplace ergonomics risk assessment and pain scale.Work (Reading, Mass.)93% of 98 therapists scored in the medium-risk band on a workplace ergonomics tool, and 91% reported pain after a single session. Pediatric therapists had the highest exposure. No significant link was found between the measured risk factors and pain levels.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Experiences of Transition From Early-Intervention to Education-Based Therapy Services for Parents of Children With Physical Childhood-Onset Disabilities: A Scoping Review.Child: care, health and developmentParents of children with physical disabilities report that moving from early intervention to school-based therapy means less therapy, a smaller role in their child's care, and poor communication. Caring staff and individualised support were the main positive experiences.
• OTSystematic Review2025Measurement Tools in Occupational Therapy Practice Primary School Setting: A Scoping Review.Occupational therapy internationalMost measurement tools used by school-based OTs focus on handwriting and cognitive skills. Only four of 52 tools address the classroom environment, such as teacher support or attitudes.