Child Development
PUBLICATIONS AND WEB LINKS
The following are reports and links which might be helpful to individuals and organisations undertaking projects or research in the field of child development, or who are affected by one of the conditions we are interested in:
Child development information and resources
Adult Attention Deficit Disorder – UK (AADD-UK) - Raising awareness of ADHD in adulthood, advancing the education of professionals and the public at a national and local level in the UK.
Afasic Cymru* - Supports parents and provides information about specific language impairments in Wales.
BishopBlog - Professor Dorothy Bishop’s blog. She writes about science and interesting research findings on child development, with excellent comments on methodology.
Box of Ideas** - practical help and ideas for parents and teachers of children and young people with neurodevelopmental disorders.
British Association for Supported Employment (BASE) - BASE is a membership organisation for supported employment agencies and supported businesses in the UK.
British Dyslexia Association* - Working towards a dyslexia friendly society enabling all dyslexic people to reach their potential.
CanChild** for Health Professionals, for Education Materials - Resources for health professionals and educational materials about DCD, from a research and educational centre at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada.
Contact a Family – a UK-based registered charity for families with disabled children offering support, advice and information.
Disability Toolkits - Managing off-campus learning for students with disabilities.
Dyslexia Action - Aims to remove the barriers facing those with dyslexia by providing help and support to those with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties.
Epilepsy Action* - Advice and information about Epilepsy.
Equality and Human Rights Commission - Has a statutory remit to promote and monitor human rights, and to protect, enforce and promote equality.
Food and Behaviour** - Research based information on how nutrition can affect behaviour.
Hidden Impairment National Group - Has produced a toolkit to support organisations that demonstrate their commitment to the recruitment and retention of disabled people, and in particular individuals with Hidden Impairments.
Information and Support Services (ADDISS) - ADDISS provides information, training and support for parents, sufferers and professionals in the fields of ADHD and related learning and behavioural difficulties.
JobCentrePlus Disability Employment Advisor - Available at Job Centres for anyone with a disability or hidden difficulty, to tell you about programs and grants to help you into work, and the reasonable adjustments that employers are required to make on your behalf.
Microlink - Microlink is the UK's largest independent supplier of Assistive Technology and disability related management services.
Movement Matters* - the UK umbrella organisation representing the major national groups concerned with children and adults with coordination difficulties, a condition called Developmental Coordination Disorder (or DCD) and sometimes referred to as ‘dyspraxia’.
National Autistic Society* - A UK charity for people with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (including Asperger syndrome) and their families, providing information, support and pioneering services.
National Handwriting Association - Helping teachers help children effectively handwrite, as it is such a critical component of literacy.
Network Autism** - Where Autism professionals connect. An online community sharing good practice, knowledge and resources with a range of discussions and forums.
RALLI** - Raising Awareness of Language Learning Impairments. A youtube channel of video shorts about language learning and Specific Language Impairment.
Remploy - Remploy’s mission is to transform the lives of disabled people and those who experience complex barriers to work by providing sustainable employment opportunities.
Research Autism** - Provides free, impartial and scientifically accurate information about a large number of autism treatments and therapies. Also funds research into Autism Spectrum Conditions.
Rolandic** - Information about Rolandic Epilepsy (also called “Benign Epilepsy of Childhood with Centrotemporal Spikes”, or “BECCTS” for short) for parents and health professionals.
Sense about Science - A UK-based charitable trust equipping people to make sense of science, through encouraging an evidence-based approach to scientific and technological developments.
The Dyscovery Centre, University of Wales, Newport* - An interdisciplinary centre of excellent for children and adults with specific learning difficulties.
The Dyspraxia Foundation - The Foundation seeks every opportunity to increase understanding of DCD, particularly among professionals in health and education and encourages its local groups to do the same.
Service User Involvement
The involvement of the public improves research projects, particularly when by those with the condition in question, or “service users". This influences the sorts of questions that researchers ask, and the feasibility of projects. There are many ways of involving service users in research.
For more information, please consult the following.
- INVOLVE, for advice and support.
- Staley, K., Kabir, T., and Szmukler, G., (2013). Service users as collaborators in mental health research: less stick, more carrot. Psychological Medicine, 43, pp 1121-1125 doi:10.1017/S0033291712001663 (Click here for link).
- Szmukler, G., Staley, K., & Kabir, T. (2011). Service user involvement in research. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 3(4), 180–186. doi:10.1111/j.1758-5872.2011.00145.x (Click here for link).
- The McPin Foundation, for advice, consultancy, and practical support.
- The Mental health Research Network (MHRN), for excellent resources. In particular:
- Service User Menu.
- Service User Toolkit.
Research tools
BishopBlog - Professor Dorothy Bishop’s blog. She writes about science and interesting research findings on child development, with excellent comments on methodology.
'Guide to Interpreting Research’: Gina Gomez de la Cuesta, Action Research Leader, The National Autistic Society.
‘Trying Hard is Not Good Enough’: Mark Friedman, Director of the Fiscal Policy Studies Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
‘Michael Blastland Summer School’: Michael Blastland.
‘Bad Science’: Dr Ben Goldacre.
*indicates an organisation that has received grant funding from TWF
**indicates a resource funded by TWF |