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…

The current study aimed to review and evaluate a three-session psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic group programme for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The group programme was facilitated through an ASD diagnostic and intervention service within a Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trust over a 12-month period,…

Family environment plays a very important role in early child development and the availability of stimulating material in the early years of a child's life is crucial for optimising development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory is one of the most widely used measures to assess the quality and quantity…

The potential human and financial costs of foster placement disruption for the children, families, professionals and agencies involved are widely accepted. This service evaluation identified and described perspectives of foster parents and social workers regarding placement disruptions in order to identify the main issues of concern and to derive…

The primary relationship undermines how a newborn will develop. The first three years of a child's life in particular are fundamental for the development of the child's brain. This is when the "social brain" develops and grows in response to the spontaneous relationships experienced within the environment and when an…

The Irish direct provision system for asylum seekers is acknowledged as providing a very challenging and exclusionary living environment for adults and children. To date, there has been little research focused specifically on the ways in which the direct provision environment impacts on the parenting role. This qualitative study explores the…

Irrespective of type of placement, contact with the birth family is one of the more contentious issues in decision-making for children in care. Despite widespread belief that contact with the birth family is beneficial for children and young people in care, this aspect of children's care experience has not received a great deal of attention. In…

Parenting a child with complex health/palliative care needs is wide ranging. Family-centred practices place parents at the heart of the ongoing care of these children, and therefore it makes sense that their views and experiences should be central to research within the field. Despite this assertion, little guidance exists as to how best to…

Studies focusing on mothers' own reports of their experience with intervention programmes are rare, so very little has been known about their evaluations of the programmes and what they have learned. The aim of the present study was to use interviews to evaluate these aspects of an intervention programme. The interviews were designed to capture…

The majority of mothers in Ireland provide formula milk to their infants during the initial weeks postpartum; however, data are lacking on their formula feeding practices and support needs. This prospective Dublin-based observational study, which included 450 eligible mother-term infant pairs recruited and followed up to six months postpartum,…

Parental perceptions of receiving a diagnosis for their child have been widely researched, with results suggesting high levels of dissatisfaction. Such research has focused upon diagnoses such as Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, and has often looked specifically at the disclosure of a diagnosis. There is limited research looking at the process…

This study (2006-2007) sought to explore and examine whether the provision of full daycare improves the quality of life for children and their parents. There are now 60.8% of women employed in the workforce, according to the Central Statistics Office (2008). This means many changes for children, parents and families. Twenty-seven childcare…

This article reports on a pilot study undertaken in order to explore the impact of a home-based parenting intervention (Parents Plus), on parents and families. Parents Plus is part of a Welsh Early Years strategy called Flying Start and aims to promote positive parent-child interactions. This article explores the medium-term to long-term impact of…

A number of recent publications have highlighted the need for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to be offered "timely" and "appropriate" support in relation to the development of their social skills. One such reported method is the utilisation of social skills groups, although only a small evidence base currently exists demonstrating…

This article summarizes an original conference, organised by the Child Care Research Forum (http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/ccrf/), which brought together experts from all over Northern Ireland to showcase some of the wealth of research with children and young people that is going on in the country today. Developed around the six high-level outcomes of…