Paediatrics: Healthy Start to Life

The Paediatric Research Engagement Theme is composed of researchers from a number of allied health professions including, Audiology, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Pathology.

We seek collaborative research opportunities in the areas that support everyday life of children, young people and their families, for example school readiness and transition, family centred-practice, auditory functioning, communication and movement control. The age groups of children we work with are diverse from infancy to post-school to reflect the dynamics exist in these areas. Our researchers work in partnership with national and international research communities.

Impact

Research in this theme aims to promote health and wellbeing of children and young people with disability, illness and injury and that of their families. Our research supports these children and young people and their families to participate in everyday activities and obtain meaningful life experiences. For example, some of our researchers currently work with families of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) to investigate their developmental needs.

Staff overview

Chair: Joseph Kei, Associate Professor in Audiology

Deputy Chair: Rebecca Armstrong, Lecturer in Speech Pathology

Deputy Chair: Tomomi McAuliffe, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Academic Staff

Nerina Scarinci, Associate Professor in Speech Pathology

Jodie Copley, Associate Professor in Occupational Therapy

Wayne Wilson, Associate Professor in Audiology

Carlie Driscoll, Associate Professor in Audiology

Leanne Johnston, Associate Professor in Physiotherapy

Natalie Collins, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy

Sjaan Gomersall, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy

Anna Hatton, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy

Jess Hill, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Emma Crawford, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Liz Springfield, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy

Monique Waite, Lecturer in Speech Pathology

Felipe Retamal Walter, Lecturer in Speech Pathology

Julie MacDonald, Associate Lecturer in Physiotherapy

Jenny Ziviani, Emeritus professor in Occupational Therapy

Cathy McBryde, Casual academic in Occupational Therapy

Research Staff

Katie Ekberg, Senior Research Fellow in Audiology

Conjoint Staff

Jeanne Marshall, Conjoint Research Fellow in Speech Pathology

Clinic Staff

Teresa Quinlan, Clinic Manager in Occupational Therapy

Research funding (2018–present)

Title	Funding Body	Investigators
Improving access to the hearing services program for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds	NHMRC targeted call for hearing research	Piers Dawes, Nerina Scarinci, Monique Waite, Barbra Timmer, Louise Hickson
Shearwave elastography to quantify impact of age, development and pathology on the neuromuscular system	Queensland Children’s Hospital Foundation & UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure	Leanne Johnston, Kylie Tucker, Honey Heussler, Miran Goo
CyFiT Telehealth: web-based data management and clinical support system	Australian Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust & Queensland Health: Health Practitioner Grant	Leanne Johnston, Trevor Russell, Kellie Stockton, Ray Lang
Does a high volume, performance focused swimming program elicit meaningful, therapeutic change in people with cerebral palsy? A proof-of-concept study	Queensland Academy of Sport, Australian Paralympic Committee & Swimming Australia Limited	Sean Tweedy, Emma Beckman, Mark Connick, Leanne Johnston
Children's Motor Control Research Collaborative (CMCRC): EXCITE program	Cerebral Palsy Alliance	Leanne Johnston, Kylie Tucker, Andrew Claus
PRE-EMPT: The effectiveness of community physiotherapy intervention for preterm infants at risk of neurodevelopmental delay and cerebral palsy	Queensland Health: Health Practitioner Grant & Queensland Children’s Hospital Foundation	Chelsea Mobbs, Leanne Johnston, Alicia Spittle
Coaching caregivers of children with developmental disabilities: A cluster RCT	Health Research Council of New Zealand	Fiona Graham, Debbie Snell, Jonathan Williman, Anna Ranta, Jenny Ziviani
ENVISAGE: Enabling VISion And Growing Expectations – A program to support parents of children newly diagnosed with a neurodisability	Canadian Institutes of Health Research	Peter Rosenbaum, Laura Miller, Andrea Cross, Christine Imms, Jenny Ziviani
Implementing an evidence-based adherence protocol to the cystic fibrosis service: Acceptability, costs and sustainability	Children’s Hospital Foundation Health Services Research Grant	Bianca Richards, Jenny Ziviani, Tanya Douglas, Megan Simons
Participate-CP: Optimising participation in physically active leisure for children with cerebral palsy: A randomised controlled trial.	NHMRC	Leanne Sakzewski, Catherine Elliott, Iona Novak Jenny Ziviani, Annette Majnemer, Stuart Trost
Fetal alcohol syndrome disorder: assessment and intervention	Australian Health Department	Dianne Shanley, Doug Shelton, Mark Patrick, Subramanian, Riordan, Heidi Webster, Karen Moritz, Jenny Ziviani, Dana Newcomb
ENVISAGE: New ideas for parenting a child with an early onset neurodisability in the 21^st century	American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine	Laura Miller, Peter Rosenbaum, Christine Imms, Jenny Ziviani, Andrea Cross, Vicki Cavaliers, Rachel Martens
REACH: A randomised trial of Rehabilitation Early in Congenital Hemiplegia	NHMRC	Roslyn Boyd, Jenny Ziviani, Iona Novak, Nadia Badawi, Leanne Sakzewski, Stephen Rose, Sue Greaves, Catherine Elliott, Andrea Guzzetta
Engagement in the pediatric rehabilitation process: Its nature, measurement and role in the determination of outcomes.	Canadian Institutes of Health Research	Gillian King, Virginia Wright, Jenny Ziviani, Lisa Chiarello, Roger Ideishi, Anne Poulsen, Heidi Schwelinus
Australasian cerebral palsy clinical trials network: AUSCP CTN.	NHMRC CRE	Roslyn Boyd, Iona Novak, Euan Wallace, Nadia Badaw. Steven Rose. Paul Colditz, Jenny Ziviani, Catherine Elliott, Susan Stott
Wideband Tympanometry in children with and without conductive hearing loss and middle ear pathology	Children's Hospital Foundation Queensland (2019-2021)	Cerys Downing, Joseph Kei, Carlie Driscoll
Evaluating of efficacy and accuracy of next-generation auditory steady state response (ASSR) technology	New Technology Funding and Evaluation Program: Queensland Health (2023-2024)	Sreedevi Aithal, Venkatesh Aithal, Joseph Kei
Impact of children’s not-for-profit services in rural and remote Queensland: A multi-perspective study	BUSHkids Community Partnership (2022-2023)	Leanne Johnston, Alina Morawska, Jonas Fooken, Joseph Kei, Monique Waite, Liz Springfield
Detecting otitis media in young children using wideband absorbance with deep metric learning	William Demant Foundation (2023-2025)	Joseph Kei, Carlie Driscoll, Wayne Wilson, Asad Khan, Venkatesh Aithal, Sree Aithal, Chris Perry, Shane Anderson, Liz Traves
Digital Uplift project for the Inter-professional Paeds Curriculum	The University of Queensland (2021-2022)	Leanne Johnston, Tomomi McAuliffe, Cathy McBryde, Rebecca Armstrong, Nerina Scarinci, Joseph Kei
The Prem-STARS Program: Developing an intervention to promote Successful Transition to And Readiness for School for children born very preterm	HaBS Research Collaboration Seeding Grant	Tomomi McAuliffe, Amy Mitchell, Rebecca Armstrong, Leanne Johnston, Alina Morawska, Catherine McBryde
Impact of improved classroom acoustics on the educational outcomes of students with ASD	The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC)	Wayne Wilson, Jill Ashburner, Wendy Arnott

HDR students

Candidate	Degree	Supervisor/s	Project Title/Description
Nicola Burn	PhD	Carlie Driscoll, Wayne Wilson, Rachael Beswick	Shared risk factors for childhood hearing and vision loss and predictors of dual sensory loss
Alison Collins	PhD	Carlie Driscoll, Rachael Beswick, Joseph Kei	Evaluating the strategies and outcomes of newborn hearing screening in Queensland
Carl Francia	PhD	Leanne Johnston, Prof John Fraser (TPCH), Prof Rob Justo (QCH)
Jenniffer Garcia	PhD	Jodie Copley, Merrill Turpin, Sally Bennett	Improving quality of occupational therapy practice in Chile by building reasoning and research capacity of Chilean occupational therapist
Jacinta Quartermaine	PhD	Leanne Johnston, Tanya Rose (UQ), Megan Auld (CPL)
Aisling Ryan	PhD	Leanne Johnston, Laura Miller (ACU), Tanya Rose (UQ)
Ankita Surpal	MPhil	Leanne Johnston, Laura Brown (Macquarie), Elizabeth Hurrion (MMH)
Lisa Gardener	PhD	Associate Professor Merrill Turpin, Dr Laura Desha, Professor Helen Bourke-Taylor	Adolescent Perspectives of Sharing Responsibility for the Management of Type 1 Diabetes Management in Secondary School

Featured publications

Name of Publication	Author
Defining physical literacy for application in Australia: A modified Delphi method, Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 38 (2) 105-118. (2019)	Richard J. Keegan, Lisa M. Barnett, Dean A. Dudley, Richard D. Telford, David, R. Lubans, Anna S. Bryant, William M. Roberts, Philip J. Morgan, Natasha K. Schranz, Juanita R. Weissensteiner, Stewart A. Vella, Jo Salmon, Jenny Ziviani, Anthony D. Okely, Nalda Wainwright, John R. Evans
Can canine-assisted interventions affect the social behaviours of children on the autism spectrum?: s systematic review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 6 1: 13-25. (2019)	Jessica Hill, Jenny Ziviani, Carlie Driscoll, Judy Cawdwell-Smith
CyFiT telehealth: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of an online outpatient physiotherapy service for children with cystic fibrosis, MC Pulmonary Medicine, 19 (1) 21. (2019)	Ray Lei Lang, Christine Wilson, Kellie Stockton, Trevor Russell, Leanne Johnston
Getting inTOUCH: outcomes of a knowledge translation intervention for tactile assessment knowledge, barriers, and practice in paediatric therapists working with children with cerebral palsy, Disability and Rehabilitation, 41 (19) 1-9. (2018)	Megan L. Auld, Leanne M. Johnston
Development of a diagnostic prediction model for conductive conditions in neonates using wideband acoustic immittance, Ear and Hearing, 30 (6) 111-1135. (2018)	Joshua Myers, Joseph Kei, Aithal Sreedevi, Aithal Venkatesh, Carlie Driscoll, Asaduzzaman Khan, Alehandrea Manuel, Joseph Anjali, Alicja N. Malicka
Diagnosing middle ear pathology in 6-to 9-month-old infants using wideband absorbance: a risk prediction model, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61 (9) 2386-2404.	Joshua Myers, Joseph Kei, Aithal Sreedevi, Aithal Venkatesh, Carlie Driscoll, Asaduzzaman Khan, Alehandrea Manuel, Joseph Anjali, Alicja N. Malicka
Exercise interventions improve postural control in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 57 (6) 504-520. (2015)	Rosalee Dewar, Sarah Love, Leanne Johnston
Muscle tone measures for children aged 0 to 12 years: a systematic review Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 60 (7) 660-671. (2018)	Miran Goo, Kylie Tucker, Leanne Johnston
Efficacy of upper limb therapies for unilateral cerebral palsy: A meta-analysis, Paediatrics, 133 (1) e175-e204. (2014)	Leanne Sakzewski, Jenny Ziviani, Roslyn Boyd
Can canine-assisted interventions affect the social behaviours of children on the autism spectrum?: s systematic review, Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 6 (1) 13-25 (2018)	Jessica Hill, Jenny Ziviani, Carlie Driscoll, Judy Cawdell-Smith
Hearing and auditory processing abilities in primary school children with learning difficulties, Ear and Hearing, 40 (3) 700-709. (2019)	Seong Min Choi, Joseph Kei, Wayne Wilson
Prevalence of otitis media and risk-factors for sensorineural hearing loss among infants attending Child Welfare Clinics in the Solomon Islands, International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 111 21-25. (2018)	Annette Kaspar, Obiga Newton, Joseph Kei, Carlie Driscoll, De Wet Swanepoel, Helen Goulios
Late talkers and later language outcomes: Predicting the different language trajectories. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 237-250. (2017)	Rebecca Armstrong, James G Scott, Andrew J.) Whitehouse, David Copland, Katie L. McMahon, Wendy Arnott
Predicting receptive vocabulary change from childhood to adulthood: A birth cohort study. Journal of Communication Disorders, 64, 78-90. (2016)	Rebecca Armstrong, James Scott, David Copland, Katie McMahon, Asad Khan, Jake N Najman, Rosa Alati, Wendy Arnott
The experiences of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder: managing family routines and mothers’ health and wellbeing. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 66 (1) 68-76 (2018)	Tomomi McAuliffe, Yvonne Thomas, Sharmila Vaz, Torjorn Falkmer, Reinie Cordier
Quality of life, coping styles, stress levels, and time use in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders: comparing single versus coupled households. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47 10. (2017)	Tomomi McAuliffe, Reinie Cordier, Sharmila Vaz, Yvonne Thomas, Tobjorn Falkmer
Elevated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children who stutter, Journal of Fluency Disorders, 59, 80-90 (2019)	Kerianne Druker, Neville Hennessey, Trevor Mazzucchelli, Janet Beilby
Parent perceptions of an integrated stuttering treatment and behavioral self-regulation program. A qualitative thematic analysis, Journal of Fluency Disorders, 62, 1-17.	Kerianne Druker, Neville Hennessey, Trevor Mazzucchelli, Janet Beilby
Literacy development in children with cochlear implants: A review. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 27(1), 115-134 (2022)	Nicola Bell, Anthony Angwin, Wendy Arnott, Wayne Wilson
A preliminary investigation of sound-field amplification as an inclusive classroom adjustment for children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Communication Disorders, 93, 106142 (2021)	Wayne Wilson, Keely Harper-Hill, Rebecca Armstrong, Cerys Downing, Kelsey Perrykkad, Mary Rafter, Jill Ashburner
Can an Advanced Audiology-led service reduce waiting times for paediatric ENT outpatient services? Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 57(2), 268-272 (2021)	Michelle Pokorny, Peter Thorne, Arier Lee, Bernhard Whitfield, Wayne Wilson
Effectiveness and safety of advanced audiology triage in pediatric ORL services. Ear and Hearing, 41(5), 1103-1110 (2020)	Michelle Pokorny, Wayne Wilson, Bernhard Whitfield, Peter Thorne
Is an Advanced Audiology-led service the solution to the paediatric ENT outpatient waiting list problem? Speech, Language and Hearing, 22(3), 137-141 (2019)	Michelle Pokorny, Wayne Wilson, Peter Thorne, Bernhard Whitfield
Electrophysiological characteristics in children with listening difficulties, with or without auditory processing disorder. International Journal of Audiology, 58(11), 704-716 (2019)	Tone Stokkereit Mattsson, Ola Lind, Turid Follestad, Kjell Grøndahl,Wayne Wilson, Jude Nicholas, Ståle Nordgår, Stein Andersson
On the definition of APD and the need for a conceptual model of terminology. International Journal of Audiology, 58(8), 516-523 (2019)	Wayne Wilson
Semantic processing in children with cochlear implants: Evidence from event-related potentials. Brain and Language, 41(6), 576-590 (2019)	Nicola Bell, Anthony Angwin, Wendy Arnott, Wayne Wilson
Hearing and auditory processing impairments in primary school children with learning difficulties in Australia. Ear and Hearing, 40(3), 700-709 (2019)	Robyn Choi, Joseph Kei, Wayne Wilson
Contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions in a clinical sample of children with auditory processing disorder. International Journal of Audiology, 58(5), 301-310 (2019)	Tone Stokkereit Mattsson, Ola Lind, Turid Follestad, Kjell Grøndahl, Wayne Wilson
Spelling in children with cochlear implants: evidence of underlying processing differences. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 24(2), 161-172 (2019)	Nicola Bell, Anthony Angwin, Wayne Wilson, Wendy Arnott
Reading development in children with cochlear implants: A psycholinguistic investigation. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 62(2), 456-469 (2019).	Nicola Bell, Anthony Angwin, Wayne Wilson, Wendy Arnott
Evolving the concept of APD, International Journal of Audiology, 57(4), 240-248 (2018)	Wayne Wilson

Partnerships

Awards

2022 – PhD Platform: Best PhD in developmental medicine in the Asia Pacific, North American and European regions- Georgina Clutterbuck
2020 – Yvonne Burns Award for best paediatric higher-degree research at the University of Queensland- Georgina Clutterbuck
2020 – UQ Award for Teaching Excellence – Leanne Johnston
2020 – Commendations for substantive contributions to student learning Award – Joseph Kei and Wayne Wilson, HaBS, UQ.
2019 – Australian Physiotherapy Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to Paediatrics – Leanne Johnston
2019 – Most Downloaded Papers in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology 2017-2018 ‘Top 20’ – Miran Goo, Kylie Tucker, Leanne Johnston
2018 & 2010 – Certificate of Outstanding Service, Audiology Australia – Wayne Wilson
2018 – Mentorship Award, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences – Jenny Ziviani
2018 – Higher Degree Research Supervision, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences – Leanne Johnston
2017 – Elected Fellow of the Research Academy, Australian Occupational Therapy Research Foundation – Jenny Ziviani
2017 – Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Inbound Research Mobility Scheme Inbound Research Mobility Scheme – Joseph Kei
2017 – Teaching and Research Excellence (Physiotherapy) – Leanne Johnston
2016 – Elected Fellow of the Academy of Research, American Occupational Therapy Foundation – Jenny Ziviani
2016 – Research Excellence: Australian Physiotherapy Association (Queensland) – Leanne Johnston
2016 – Most Downloaded Paper in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology – Rosalee Dewar, Sarah Love, Leanne Johnston

Clinics and research groups

News and Media

Dr Rebecca Armstrong

Lecturer in Speech Pathology

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Affiliate of Parenting and Family Support Centre

Parenting and Family Support Centre
Associate Professor Joseph Kei

Associate Professor in Audiology

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Affiliate of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR) & Affiliate of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR)

Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health
Affiliate of Parenting and Family Support Centre

Parenting and Family Support Centre
Dr Tomomi McAuliffe

Lecturer

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Affiliate of Parenting and Family Support Centre

Parenting and Family Support Centre

Research