For those with chronic, progressive conditions, high quality clinical care requires attention to the human dimensions of illness--emotional, social, and moral aspects--which co-exist with biophysical dimensions of disease. Reflexivity brings historical, institutional, and socio-cultural influences on clinical activities to the fore, enabling…

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive genetic condition that affects both muscle and brain. Children with DMD are at risk of psycho-social difficulties such as poor academic achievement and behavioural and socio-emotional problems. This article by Janet Hoskin and Angela Fawcett, both from the University of Swansea, describes how 34…

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an inherited, progressive and life-limiting neuromuscular disease that affects boys. During their lives, they experience a series of medical and surgical interventions. Research reported in this paper took place in England with 37 young men living with DMD and their families and explored their experiences of…

Research which involves disabled children and young people now constitutes a fairly well-established body of work in the social sciences. However, discussion on the role of the (normally adult) researcher has arguably been marginalised in the much-needed exploration of disabled children's "voices". Drawing on a qualitative study of the transition…

The treatment and care of persons with a disability should and must be all encompassing. With the expansion of the knowledge that proper dieting can make a difference in the individual's development and quality of life, attention must be focused on using proper food intake to remediate the negative impact of a disability. Food is related to proper…

Students with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have a degenerative disease that requires ongoing changes in assistive technology (AT). The AT team needs to be knowledgeable about the disease and its progression in order to meet these students' changing needs in a timely manner. The unique needs of students with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in…

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) leads to progressive muscular weakness and death, most typically from respiratory complications. Dysphagia is common in DMD; however, the most appropriate swallowing assessments have not been universally agreed and the symptoms of dysphagia remain under-reported. Aims: To investigate symptoms of…

Substantial research has detailed the reading deficits experienced by children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Although phonological awareness (PA) is vital in reading development, little is known about PA in the DMD population. This pilot study describes the PA abilities of a group of five young children with DMD, comparing the results…

A number of muscular dystrophies are associated with the defective glycosylation of [alpha]-dystroglycan and many are now known to result from mutations in a number of genes encoding putative or known glycosyltransferases. These diseases include severe forms of congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) such as Fukuyama type congenital muscular dystrophy…

Purpose: This prospective investigation evaluates oral weakness and its impact on swallow function, weight, and quality of life in patients with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD). Method: Intraoral pressure, swallow pressure, and endurance were measured using an Iowa Oral Performance Instrument in participants with OPMD and matched…

This article presents an introduction to "The Behavior-Analytic Origins of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy: An Example of Behavioral Neurorehabilitation," by Edward Taub and his colleagues (Taub, 2012). Based on extensive experimentation with animal models of peripheral nerve injury, Taub and colleagues have created an approach to overcoming…

Aim: The cognitive deficits present in the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are not yet well characterized. Attention, considered to be the brain mechanism responsible for the selection of sensory stimuli, could be disturbed in DMD, contributing, at least partially, to the observed global cognitive deficit. The aim of this study was to…

Getting a good night's sleep is important to good health for all, but for children with special needs, getting that good night's sleep can be especially difficult. According to a National Sleep Foundation study, more than two-thirds of children experience one or more sleep problems at least a few nights a week. However, studies show that children…

This study explored the perspectives of children with disabilities regarding the concept of inclusion in physical activity. Participants were children (two girls, nine boys, M[subscript age] = 10 years, five months, age range: 8-12 years) with disabilities, including cerebral palsy, fine and gross motor delays, developmental coordination disorder,…

Inclusive education continues to be a reoccurring challenge as various factors affect to what extent teachers or educators are willing to educate children with disabilities in the regular education setting alongside their non-disabled peers. This quantitative study examined factors influencing Belize District Primary School teachers' attitudes…