Child development
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Autism Assessment Across the Lifespan: Why Follow-Up Matters
Autism assessment is often organised around a single visit, while developmental changes in autistic children and adults may unfold gradually over time. Longitudinal research suggests that some of these changes can go unnoticed, while some apparent changes may reflect something other than development. Repeated assessments can offer insights that a single visit may miss.
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To categorise or not to categorise: the use of transdiagnostic approaches to better understand complexity in neurodevelopment
Explore the prevalence of neurodevelopmental conditions in children, including ADHD, autism and intellectual disability, and the limitations of categorical diagnosis in capturing individual strengths and support needs.
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Compliance as a trauma response in children
A child who smiles and causes no trouble at school is easy to overlook. In the session on mentalising with complex trauma in children and families, Dr Emma Morris described how, in some children who have experienced early relational trauma, compliance may be mistaken for a sign that all is well. A mentalising lens offers another reading, in which compliance may be a way of staying safe, and that reading can shape what support comes first.
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Using a case formulation to identify what maintains anxiety
Case conceptualisation helps clinicians move from a description of a young person’s symptoms to an account of what may be keeping them going. In the session on science-informed case conceptualisation, Professor Bryce McLeod illustrated his five-step model with a single case of social anxiety in a young adolescent girl. The case shows how a formulation can bring maintaining factors into view, including the coping strategies of the girl and her mother, and then shape treatment and the conversation with the family.
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The Transition Dip: Why School Transitions Are a Systemic Challenge for Adolescent Wellbeing
The transition to secondary school coincides with major adolescent neurodevelopment changes, creating unique challenges during a period of heightened neuroplasticity.
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How Neurobiology Can Inform Our Understanding of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Why does non-suicidal self-injury develop and what sustains it? Explore Kaess et al. (2021) on biological, psychological, and social factors, including stress, pain, emotion regulation, and vulnerabilities linked to ongoing self-injury.
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Rethinking Autistic Camouflaging
What is autistic masking, and does it always harm wellbeing? Explore new research on camouflaging, impression management, identity, social pressures, and autistic burnout.
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When ‘Insomnia’ Is Not Insomnia: Understanding Circadian Delay in Adolescents
Could teenage “insomnia” actually be circadian delay? Explore how puberty, school schedules, and biological sleep timing may shape adolescent sleep problems.
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Self-Guided Intervention for Intergenerational Anxiety
Could supporting anxious parents help reduce anxiety in children? Explore research on a self-guided online parenting intervention and its effects on child anxiety.
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Trauma-Informed Practice Training: Common Trauma Myths
Looking for trauma informed practice training? Explore common childhood trauma myths, understand PTSD in young people and strengthen your therapeutic approach.
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