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.

1,906 PAPERS · PAGE 35 OF 39 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPCohort2026Factors associated with social participation among children with fragile X syndrome.Disability and health journalMost children with fragile X syndrome joined at least one social activity, but participation dropped for those with severe intellectual disability or emotional dysregulation. Caregivers cited behavioral issues, time constraints, and lack of community resources as the biggest barriers.
• PTOTCase Report2026A self-made suspension trainer as a tool for core muscle activation and motivation in a girl with cognitive and motor impairments: a case report.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesA therapist-built rope and stick trainer helped one 13-year-old girl with severe impairments increase core exercise repetitions from 1–2 to 10–15. The caregiver reported better posture and willingness to participate, but no standardized measures were used.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025Association Between Exposure to Smartphones and Tablets and Motor Development in Early Childhood: A Systematic Review.Child: care, health and developmentEvidence linking smartphone and tablet use to motor development in young children is mixed and inconclusive. Four studies found negative associations, while three found positive ones. Most results were weak or non-significant, and the cross-sectional design prevents causal conclusions.
• PTOTCohort2026Participation, environment, and quality of life in children with cerebral palsy and physical disabilities.Developmental medicine and child neurologyCommunity support, not just physical ability, strongly predicted quality of life in children with cerebral palsy. Parents reported significant barriers and a high desire for change. Clinicians should prioritize community integration and resource navigation alongside physical therapy.
• PTOTCohort2026Motor Function Profiling and Its Impact on Health-Related Quality of Life in Childhood Stroke Survivors.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationChildhood stroke survivors were below test norms in manual coordination and strength/agility, which were linked with lower parent-reported quality of life and function. Motor daily skills were largely preserved; cognitive daily skills were not.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Social Determinants of Health and Life Satisfaction of Children With Disabilities.Child: care, health and developmentFor school-attending children with disabilities, life satisfaction is strongly linked to the child's own subjective health and self-esteem, alongside parental depression and family strength. Social determinants like healthcare costs and school accommodations also play a role, though accommodations are associated with lower satisfaction, possibly due to stigma.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026Experiência de famílias e terapeutas com um programa de telessaúde para crianças e adolescentes com paralisia cerebral durante a pandemia de COVID-19.Developmental medicine and child neurologyFamilies and therapists initially doubted remote care for children with severe cerebral palsy but later valued video-based collaboration. Therapists moved from direct hands-on treatment to coaching parents through shared routines. This shift required building trust and adapting to home realities, not just technical fixes.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2026Effects of video game-based interventions on executive functions and motor skills in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesVideo games improved executive function and gross motor skills in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Fine motor skills showed no improvement. Active games favoured gross motor and flexibility; computer games favoured working memory.
• PTOTQualitative2026Mothers' Perspectives on Physical Activity Co-Participation With Young Children: Examining Thoughts and Racial Differences.Child: care, health and developmentMothers described being tired before playing with their children but energized and happy afterward. They identified compromising with the child's mood and managing transitions as unique barriers. Planning ahead and involving other family members helped them engage in physical activity together.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026Building Your Best Day: Disseminating the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth via an Interactive Website.Child: care, health and developmentYouth reported better understanding of the 24-hour movement guidelines after using the website, but parents did not. Both groups liked the guidelines but felt they were hard to follow daily due to time constraints. The site helped clarify goals but did not change intention to adopt.
• PTOther2025The relationship between lower limb alignment and physical fitness in children aged 10-12: A sex-specific analysis using the ALPHA-fitness test battery.Brazilian journal of physical therapyIn children aged 10-12, sex and BMI were linked to fitness test scores more clearly than knee or foot alignment. Pronated feet showed a weak link to lower jump distance.
• PTOTCohort2026Can You See Us Play? Observing Inclusive Outdoor Play Behaviour Among Children With and Without Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study.Child: care, health and developmentBoys and children with disabilities scored lower for playfulness during inclusive outdoor play sessions. Observations showed children with disabilities often used non-verbal cues, while their invitations to play were more often rejected.
• PTSurvey2026Current Practice of Physiotherapists in the Management of Children With Cerebral Palsy in Benin Country: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey.Child: care, health and developmentPhysiotherapists in Benin mostly use passive, impairment-focused techniques like Bobath, stretching, and handling, not active, evidence-based therapies. Standardized tools like the GMFCS are rarely used because of time and knowledge gaps. Only 1.9% use outcome measures all the time.
• PTOTOther2025Tummy Time Tracking: Concurrent-Validity of Wearable Sensors in Home Settings for Term and Preterm Infants.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationTwo wearable sensors accurately tracked tummy time at home in infants, including those born preterm. The GENEActiv sensor was more precise and had far less data loss than the MonBaby, which struggled with Bluetooth disconnections and timing errors during longer recordings.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Augmented feedback as a therapeutic approach for gait rehabilitation in patients with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesAugmented feedback improved walking speed and ankle function in people with mild spastic cerebral palsy. Results for other gait measures like step length were inconsistent. The evidence is limited by small studies and a lack of long-term follow-up.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2025Atypical GNAO1 variants in severe childhood speech disorders: clinical, genetic, and molecular insights.Molecular autismTwo children with severe speech disorders and intellectual disability carried rare GNAO1 mutations without epilepsy. Laboratory tests showed these variants disrupt protein signaling in ways that respond to zinc, suggesting a potential treatment target and a reason to test GNAO1 in speech-only cases.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Screen Use and Child and Adolescent Health in Canada: Triangulation of Evidence Assessing the State of the Effort.Child: care, health and developmentCanadian parents and adults overwhelmingly believe schools, governments, and tech companies must help children use screens safely. However, the effort is fragmented: policies are inconsistent, sectors rarely collaborate, and federal leadership is largely absent despite growing media concern.
• PTCohort2025General movements and head magnetic resonance imaging to predict cerebral palsy in preterm and low birth weight infants.Journal of physical therapy scienceIn 154 very-low-birth-weight infants, abnormal head MRI plus definitely abnormal general movements flagged 92.9% of infants who had cerebral palsy and correctly excluded 97.9% who did not. Alone, each was less accurate.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026Bringing the Computer-Based Instrument for Low Motor Language Testing to Canada: A Survey of Caregiver and Clinician Perspectives.International journal of language & communication disordersCanadian caregivers and clinicians say current language comprehension assessments for children with cerebral palsy lack accuracy, creating a critical gap. Both groups view the new C-BiLLT-CAN tool as highly promising, but flag that it currently lacks the response methods, like auditory access and specific switches, that many children need to actually complete the test.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026A Scoping Review to Map Health Outcomes in Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction.International journal of language & communication disordersAcross 49 studies on inducible laryngeal obstruction, outcome measures varied widely with no standard set. Patient-reported questionnaires dominated, but few captured environmental or personal factors. Current tools miss key life impacts, so results cannot be reliably compared across studies.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Responsiveness of the "PROM Pediatric Physical Therapy" in Dutch Pediatric Physical Therapy Practices.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationThe PROM-ppt questionnaire tracks progress well for children with motor problems but fails to reflect change for those with pain-related issues. Therapists should use it to monitor goal attainment in motor cases, but rely on other measures when pain is the primary complaint.
• PTOther2025Lumbopelvic-hip Control, Upper Extremity Joint Moments, and Drive Leg Ground Reaction Force in Adolescent Baseball Pitchers.International journal of sports physical therapyIn high school pitchers, more drive-leg pelvic tilt on a single-leg lift was linked to higher shoulder horizontal adduction moment during pitching. It was not linked to elbow varus, shoulder internal rotation, or drive-leg push-off force; lead-leg tilt showed no links.
• PTNarrative Review2026Where's the Evidence? Challenging Therapists to Stop Legitimizing Dynamic Movement Intervention and Cuevas Medek Exercises.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationThis is a commentary and narrative review, not a study. It contains no methods or results, so there is no new finding to change practice.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025What Are the Factors That Can Challenge and Promote Resilience in Parents of Children With Intellectual Disabilities? A Systematic Review.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDResilience in parents of children with intellectual disabilities is linked to problem-solving, social support, hope, and positive perceptions of the child's disability. Financial strain, child behaviour problems, and lack of support challenge this adaptation. The evidence is observational, so these factors are associated with resilience, not proven causes.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026What Motor Skills Do Children Perceive as Important? A Child-Centred Exploration Using the Motor Coordination Questionnaire.Child: care, health and developmentChildren in Ghana and South Africa consistently rated self-care, writing neatly, and household chores as very important. However, boys valued kicking a ball and team sports more, while girls valued dancing more. Children with motor difficulties rated many activities as less important.
• PTSystematic Review2026Posture evaluation and treatment in adolescents through wearable technology: a systematic review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesOnly three studies, with 103 participants, were found. They used different devices and outcomes, so the review cannot support any wearable posture system as effective or as a standardized approach.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026Surveying the Professional Experience of Special Educational Needs Provision in England.Child: care, health and developmentMost SEND professionals feel confident identifying children, but only a third believe inter-agency communication is effective. They report lacking the time and resources to provide sufficient support, citing funding and waiting lists as primary barriers to good provision.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Developmental coordination disorder and executive function deficits: Implications for emotional, mental, and overall well-being.Brazilian journal of physical therapyHalf of adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder also have executive function deficits. Those with these co-occurring deficits reported significantly lower self-esteem, higher distress, and lower life satisfaction than those with motor difficulties alone.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Trends Over Time in the Prevalence of Autism by Adaptive and Intellectual Functioning Levels.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutism prevalence rose sharply in children with mild or no adaptive challenges, but stayed stable or fell in those with moderate to profound challenges. Clinicians should expect a growing caseload of autistic children who need support with daily living skills rather than intensive 24-hour care.
• PTOTSystematic Review2026Instruments assessing mobility of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and decision map.Developmental medicine and child neurologyFor children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, the DCDQ, VABS, and PEDI-CAT had the strongest evidence for mobility assessment. Many direct motor tests had low or very low evidence, so results should be used cautiously when choosing an assessment.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026Improving Equitable Access to Disability Services and Support for Children With Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: Service Provider and Decision-Maker Perspectives.Child: care, health and developmentService providers and decision-makers in British Columbia identified diagnosis-based funding as a major barrier, leaving children with functional needs but no eligible diagnosis without support. They recommended shifting to functional eligibility criteria and securing long-term case managers to navigate the fragmented system.
• PTOTOther2026Development of a set of core outcome measures for ambulant children with cerebral palsy after lower limb orthopaedic surgery.Developmental medicine and child neurologyA consensus panel recommended seven outcome measures to assess ambulant children with cerebral palsy after lower limb surgery. The Goal Outcome Assessment List was preferred across most domains, complemented by gait analysis and quality of life tools to capture both clinical and patient-reported impacts.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026Understanding Disease Aetiology and Related Needs Knowledge of Parents of Children With Spina Bifida.Child: care, health and developmentParents most often cited walking and toilet issues as primary concerns. Mothers linked spina bifida to folic acid deficiency, while many fathers were unsure of the cause. Both parents reported significant gaps in understanding the condition's origins.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2026Effects of virtual reality and robot-assisted therapy on rehabilitation outcomes in cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationRange of motion did not clearly improve, but gross motor function improved with VR or robot-assisted therapy compared with conventional rehab in children with cerebral palsy. Balance and daily-activity gains were small and may not matter clinically.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Profiles of parent-teacher discrepancy on autistic children's adaptive functioning.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParent and teacher ratings of autistic children's adaptive functioning often disagree. Teachers rated children with higher IQ and better executive function as more capable at school than parents did. Children with lower incomes showed the largest gaps, with parents reporting higher skills than teachers.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Growing stronger: Nine decades of physical disability representation in children's media and implications for pediatric rehabilitation.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicinePositive portrayals of physical disability in children's media rose sharply after 2000, with 90% of post-2000 films and shows depicting disability positively compared to 63% before. Spinal cord injury is heavily overrepresented. Therapists can use media literacy to address internalized stigma and reinforce rehabilitation goals.
• PTOTOther2026Community-Based Interventions Improve the Quality of Life for Children Living With Disabilities, Zambia.Child: care, health and developmentFamilies in Lusaka reported better quality of life after joining a community support programme. Physiotherapy and disability registration linked to physical well-being, while play groups and home visits helped emotional support. No control group means we cannot confirm the programme caused these changes.
• PTCohort2026General movements and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of age in infants born very preterm.Developmental medicine and child neurologyIn very preterm infants, early general movement quality was linked to development only before accounting for other risks. Once socioeconomic status and severe neonatal morbidities were included, the movement score added no independent predictive value.
• PTOther2025Feasibility and Concurrent Validity of Pediatric Performance-Based Postural Control Subtests Using a Pressure-Sensitive Exergaming Device: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of sports physical therapyThe Matti device accurately recorded jump counts and balance times compared to an observer, and children preferred it. However, balance times were significantly shorter than on standard boards, and jump counts were slightly higher, so existing norms do not apply.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026Preliminary Evidence for Associations Between Emotion Dysregulation and Therapy Participation in Young Autistic Children.Journal of autism and developmental disordersMore therapy types linked to higher emotion dysregulation. Yet, specific speech, occupational, and behavioral therapy participation associated with lower dysphoria or reactivity scores. Direction unclear; association not causation.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Effects of 24-h Movement Behaviours on Emotional and Behavioural Problems in Chinese Preschoolers Using Compositional Data Analysis.Child: care, health and developmentSleeping more consistently predicted fewer emotional and behavioural problems in preschoolers. Replacing even one minute of activity or sedentary time with sleep improved scores. High physical activity was linked to more problems, not fewer, challenging the idea that more movement is always better.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Patient outcomes in KCNQ2 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.Developmental medicine and child neurologySeizures in KCNQ2 DEE often begin early and may resolve, but tone, cognition, movement, motor, feeding, communication, behaviour and sleep problems were reported more often as children age.
• PTCohort2025Kinematic and Kinetic Risk Factors Exist Bilaterally During the First and Second Landing of the Drop Vertical Jump in Adolescent Patients following ACL Reconstruction.International journal of sports physical therapyAdolescents cleared to return to sport after ACL surgery showed risk factors on both landings of a drop jump. The second landing was stiffer and more game-like. The non-operated leg often moved more than the surgical leg, suggesting compensation rather than normal movement.
• PTOTCohort2026Screen Time, Fatigue, Obesity and Physical Inactivity: Health Correlates of Problematic Smartphone Use in Adolescents.Child: care, health and developmentProblematic smartphone use affected 15.7% of adolescents, clustering with high screen time, severe fatigue, obesity, and low physical activity. Each additional year of structured sports participation was associated with lower odds of problematic use, severe fatigue, and obesity, with a stronger protective effect in females.
• PTOther2025Baseline Functional Testing in Competitive Youth Swimmers.International journal of sports physical therapyYouth swimmers show wide variation in upper extremity functional test scores by sex and age. Limb symmetry indices were similar across groups, suggesting they may be a more useful comparison metric than raw repetition counts for this population.
• PTOther2025The Influence of Coronal Strike Stance Angle on Kicking Mechanics in Adolescent Female Soccer Players.International journal of sports physical therapyGreater stance limb angle was associated with knee loading linked to ACL risk factors on non-dominant kicks and greater ankle bend on dominant kicks, but many other links were not found. A direct causal link to ACL injury has not been established.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Ophthalmological outcomes, visual perception, fine motor precision, and visual-motor integration in children born very preterm.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren born very preterm showed poorer visual-motor integration, visual perception, and fine motor precision at age 12 compared to term-born peers. These deficits persisted despite best-corrected vision, linking early ophthalmological issues to long-term functional outcomes.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2026Community views on the assessment and diagnosis of autism: Principles to guide clinical practice.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceCommunity members identified three principles for autism assessment: placing the person at the centre, understanding the whole person beyond just diagnosis, and improving quality and access. Practitioners are urged to address cultural bias, recognise masking, and ensure transparent communication about costs and waitlists.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Rehabilitation approaches used for children with spinal muscular atrophy: A scoping review based on the F-words framework.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineSMA rehabilitation heavily focuses on physical fitness and mobility, often ignoring self-care, communication, and social participation. The assumption that strengthening muscles automatically improves daily function is unproven. Therapists should explicitly target functional activities and child-chosen goals rather than relying solely on impairment-based exercises.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Sub-groups of spoken language and broader communication skills in a large heterogenous cohort of minimally verbal school-age children: evidence of discrepant profiles.Molecular autismA cluster analysis of 181 minimally verbal school-age children identified two groups with strong comprehension but weak speech production. These children use AAC more often. Their profile suggests a speech-motor barrier rather than a lack of understanding, so therapy should target speech sounds and support alternative communication.