Read, speak, sing: Promoting early literacy in the health care setting

From ACEs to early relational health: Implications for clinical practice

Children grow and develop in an environment of relationships. Safe, stable, nurturing relationships help build resilience and buffer the negative impact of adverse experiences. Promoting relational health in clinical practice shifts the focus from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to positive childhood experiences (PCEs). This approach evaluates a family's strengths and assets, and can be incorporated into both well-child and subspecialty care. While the optimal window for such interventions is in the prenatal period or as early as possible within the first 3 years of life, it is never too late to start. This statement describes how clinicians can bring a relational health approach to any medical encounter by understanding: what toxic stress is and how it can affect the developing brain, family relationships, and child development; how positive relationships, experiences, and behaviours can help buffer such effects and build resilience; observable signs of relational health and risk in parent-child interactions; the attributes of trustful, therapeutic relationships with families; and how to optimize these benefits through conversation and clinical practice.

Effects of Three Music Therapy Interventions on the Verbal Expressions of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Combined Single-Subject Design

The specific aims of this research study were to (a) examine the differential effect of three different music interventions, namely the interactive music playing therapy ("music and singing"), interaction music singing therapy ("singing"), and receptive music therapy ("listening") studying the varying latency periods in the response time it took 3-year-old children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to elicit the target word vocally; and (b) assess the index of happiness of children with ASD after the implementation of the three music interventions, which can, in turn, be used to influence their overall quality of life through this specific intervention. This study used a combined single-subject research design consisting of delayed multiple baseline across the participants and a multielement design to compare the effects of each music intervention technique targeting the child's verbal response during playback of a practiced song. Findings demonstrated "singing" to be associated with the lowest latency compared to the other two interventions ("listening" and "singing and music") across participants. Additionally, happiness levels varied from neutral to happy, signifying an overall positive experience during participation in the music applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention.

2020 edition of the Rourke Baby Record: What is new in preventive care of children up to 5 years of age?

OBJECTIVE

To update primary care providers practising well-child and well-baby clinical care on the evidence that contributed to the recommendations of the 2020 edition of the Rourke Baby Record (RBR).

QUALITY OF EVIDENCE

Pediatric preventive care literature was searched from June 2016 to May 2019, primary research studies were reviewed and critically appraised using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology, and recommendations were updated where there was support from the literature.

MAIN MESSAGE

Notable changes in the 2020 edition of the RBR include the recommendations to limit or avoid consumption of highly processed foods high in dietary sodium, to ensure safe sleep (healthy infants should sleep on their backs and on a firm surface for every sleep, and should sleep in a crib, cradle, or bassinette in the parents' room for the first 6 months of life), to not swaddle infants after they attempt to roll, to inquire about food insecurity, to encourage parents to read and sing to infants and children, to limit screen time for children younger than 2 years of age (although it is accepted for videocalling), to educate parents on risks and harms associated with e-cigarettes and cannabis, to avoid pesticide use, to wash all fruits and vegetables that cannot be peeled, to be aware of the new Canadian Caries Risk Assessment Tool, to note new red flags for cerebral palsy and neurodevelopmental problems, and to pay attention to updated high-risk groups for lead and anemia screening.

CONCLUSION

The RBR endeavours to guide clinicians in providing evidence-informed primary care to Canadian children. The revisions are rigorously considered and are based on appraisal of a growing, albeit still limited, evidence base for pediatric preventive care.

Édition 2020 du Relevé postnatal Rourke

Objectif

Renseigner les fournisseurs de soins de première ligne qui dispensent des soins de médecine préventive durant l’enfance quant aux données ayant servi de fondement aux recommandations de l’édition 2020 du Relevé postnatal Rourke (RBR).

Qualité des données

Une recherche a effectuée parmi les publications sur les soins préventifs en pédiatrie entre les mois de juin 2016 et mai 2019, les principales études de recherche ont été revues et rigoureusement évaluées à l’aide de la méthode GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation ) et les recommandations ont été actualisées là où les publications étayaient des changements.

Message principal

Les changements notables de l’édition 2020 du RBR sont les recommandations de limiter ou d’éviter les aliments très transformés et riches en sodium alimentaire, de veiller au sommeil sécuritaire (les nourrissons en bonne santé doivent dormir sur le dos et sur une surface rigide à tous les dodos, et ils doivent dormir dans un moïse, un berceau ou une couchette dans la chambre des parents pendant les 6 premiers mois de vie), de ne pas emmailloter les nourrissons après qu’ils aient tenté de se retourner, de s’informer de l’insécurité alimentaire, d’encourager les parents à lire et à chanter aux nourrissons et aux enfants, de limiter le temps que les enfants de moins de 2 ans passent devant un écran (bien que ce soit accepté pour les appels vidéo), de renseigner les parents sur les risques et les torts associés aux cigarettes électroniques et au cannabis, d’éviter les pesticides, de laver tous les fruits et légumes ne pouvant être pelés, de connaître l’existence du nouvel Outil national d’évaluation du risque de caries, de noter les nouveaux symptômes alarmants de paralysie cérébrale et de problèmes neurodéveloppementaux et de porter attention aux nouveaux groupes à risque élevé pour le dépistage du plomb et de l’anémie.

Conclusion

Le RBR s’efforce de guider les cliniciens pour leur permettre de dispenser des soins de première ligne factuels aux enfants canadiens. Les révisions sont rigoureusement étudiées, et sont basées sur l’évaluation d’une base de données probantes croissante, quoique toujours limitée, sur les soins préventifs en pédiatrie.