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Research Officer
Senior Research Officer
Head, Child Disability
Senior Research Fellow
Within the Child Disability Team Jess has contributed to research that aims to improve understanding and measurement of the communication of people with CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder (CDD) by conducting and analysing interviews with families.
As Neurodiversity Celebration Week draws to a close, we are shining a light on an important study underway at The Kids Research Institute Australia, led by Dr Thom Nevill, a Research Officer within our Human Development and Community Wellbeing and Child Disability teams.
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder associated with multiple neurologic impairments. Previous studies have shown challenges to the quality of life of individuals with RTT and their caregivers. However, instruments applied to quantify disease burden have not adequately captured the impact of these impairments on affected individuals and their families. Consequently, an international collaboration of stakeholders aimed at evaluating Burden of Illness in RTT was organized.
Information on the hospital service use among individuals with CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder, an ultrarare developmental epileptic encephalopathy, is limited, evidence of which could assist with service planning. Therefore, using baseline and longitudinal data on 379 genetically verified individuals in the International CDKL5 Disorder Database, we aimed to investigate rates of seizure-related and other hospitalizations and associated length of stay in this cohort.
Siblings of children with neurodevelopmental conditions have unique experiences and challenges related to their sibling role. Some develop mental health concerns as measured by self-reported surveys or parent report. Few data are available at the population level, owing to difficulties capturing wide-scale health data for siblings. Data linkage is a technique that can facilitate such research.
To describe the timing and causes of post-neonatally acquired cerebral palsy (PNN-CP) and map the implementation of relevant preventive strategies against cause-specific temporal trends in prevalence.