Transition to adulthood involves challenges for young adults, especially for persons with disabilities: finding a meaningful occupation, developing relationships, and taking responsibility for one's health. The aim of this scoping review was to map and analyse literature on transition to adulthood for persons with cerebral palsy, CP. Eight databases were searched for studies published between 2010 and 2023. Twenty-seven studies were analysed, both descriptively and through the Indicators of Integration Framework, IIF. Results show that a medical, individualised view of adulthood dominate. The review identifies important gaps. These include insufficient attention paid to digital participation and to communicative abilities of participants. Most articles lack theoretical foundation. By using the IIF in the analysis, a theoretical framework was tested that is deemed to be a valuable tool that offers a common language for researchers, support services and organisations working to ensure an adult life on equal terms for all citizens.

Logopedi är både ett vetenskapsområde och ett verksamhetsområde som rör diagnostik och intervention av språk-, tal- och röststörningar samt ät- och sväljstörningar.

Klinisk logopedi inkluderar många typer av tillstånd och funktionsnedsättningar, både de som är medfödda och de som är förvärvade senare i livet. Gemensamt för all verksamhet inom logopedi är målsättningen att hjälpa personer att förbättra sina språk-, tal-, röst-, ät- och sväljfunktioner. De logopediska insatserna syftar även till att både barn och vuxna med kommunikations- eller ät- och sväljstörningar ska kunna leva på bästa sätt med de svårigheter som kvarstår, för att uppnå så goda förutsättningar för kommunikation, ätande och delaktighet som möjligt.

Grundbok i LOGOPEDI är en omfattande introduktion till ämnet. De fem olika delarna består av 41 kapitel skrivna av 57 författare. Del I introducerar läsaren till logopedin som profession och ämne. Del II beskriver utvecklingsrelaterade språk- och talstörningar och därefter följer del III som handlar om förvärvade språk- och talstörningar. Del IV handlar om röststörningar och del V om ät- och sväljstörningar.

Varje del börjar med ett kapitel som ger en teoretisk översikt och avslutas med två kapitel om bedömning respektive intervention. Till boken finns en digital del med kompletterande material.

Boken är avsedd för studerande vid logopedutbildningarna och är samtidigt en både bred och djup källa till information och fortbildning om logopedi för yrkesutövare inom logopedi och andra professioner. 

Background: Web-based programmes offer parents of children with communication difficulties promising access to parent-mediated, early interventions. However, empirical evaluations of such programmes are limited. This study focused on parents and used mixed methods to examine the feasibility of ComAlong online.

Methods: ComAlong online is a Swedish, self-managed web-resource teaching parents supportive strategies to promote child communication. Data of different types were collected from a total of 71 parents: ten individual parent interviews, 21 pre-questionnaires and 10 post-questionnaires, and finally 50 anonymous digital evaluation surveys. Descriptive statistics and deductive qualitative content analysis were used.

Results: Findings indicate that parents perceived improved child communication and own competence after using the ComAlong online. The most valued parts included podcasts with experts and videos of parent-child interaction. Parents reported that the resource was easy to use, but they wanted to have gained access to the resource when the child was younger. Suggestions for changes included adding a chat function with experts, a parent net forum, and the possibility of creating personalised playlists of videos and podcasts. Evaluation of the research process revealed difficulties in recruiting parents from local child healthcare services and parents of children not yet with a diagnosis.

Conclusions: This study supports the potential for self-managed, web-based resources to disseminate evidence-based parent training for supporting early communication development. Importantly, parents lack individual guidance from experts and contact with other parents. Also, measures need to be made to disseminate the resources within local child healthcare services.

Parent training programs aimed at improving language outcomes for children with complex communication needs have predominantly been evaluated on child-centered outcomes and less often on the impact on social life or parental well-being. This study examined parent perceptions of social life before and after ComAlong, a group intervention providing parents with knowledge and training in responsive communication, environmental-milieu teaching strategies and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Parents (N = 467) completed questionnaires during the first and last sessions of ComAlong groups held in Sweden 2012 to 2018. Main outcome measure was change in the Social Life Scale from the Family Impact Questionnaire. Associations between this measure and demographic factors of parents and children were analyzed, along with reported change in parents’ use of AAC. Pre-post comparisons revealed small significant positive changes in perceived impact of social life following intervention. The magnitude of the positive change was larger among parents of children with non-syndromic diagnoses and parents of children with autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit hyper activity disorder (ADHD). Differences in social life impact was not associated with parents’ gender, language proficiency, age, or educational background. In conclusion, communication-focused parent training programs can have a positive impact on social family life and may thereby influence children’s participation.

Logopedi är både ett vetenskapsområde och ett verksamhetsområde som rör diagnostik och intervention av språk-, tal- och röststörningar samt ät- och sväljstörningar.

Klinisk logopedi inkluderar många typer av tillstånd och funktionsnedsättningar, både de som är medfödda och de som är förvärvade senare i livet. Gemensamt för all verksamhet inom logopedi är målsättningen att hjälpa personer att förbättra sina språk-, tal-, röst-, ät- och sväljfunktioner. De logopediska insatserna syftar även till att både barn och vuxna med kommunikations- eller ät- och sväljstörningar ska kunna leva på bästa sätt med de svårigheter som kvarstår, för att uppnå så goda förutsättningar för kommunikation, ätande och delaktighet som möjligt.

Grundbok i LOGOPEDI är en omfattande introduktion till ämnet. De fem olika delarna består av 41 kapitel skrivna av 57 författare. Del I introducerar läsaren till logopedin som profession och ämne. Del II beskriver utvecklingsrelaterade språk- och talstörningar och därefter följer del III som handlar om förvärvade språk- och talstörningar. Del IV handlar om röststörningar och del V om ät- och sväljstörningar.

Varje del börjar med ett kapitel som ger en teoretisk översikt och avslutas med två kapitel om bedömning respektive intervention. Till boken finns en digital del med kompletterande material.

Boken är avsedd för studerande vid logopedutbildningarna och är samtidigt en både bred och djup källa till information och fortbildning om logopedi för yrkesutövare inom logopedi och andra professioner. 

Logopedi är både ett vetenskapsområde och ett verksamhetsområde som rör diagnostik och intervention av språk-, tal- och röststörningar samt ät- och sväljstörningar.

Klinisk logopedi inkluderar många typer av tillstånd och funktionsnedsättningar, både de som är medfödda och de som är förvärvade senare i livet. Gemensamt för all verksamhet inom logopedi är målsättningen att hjälpa personer att förbättra sina språk-, tal-, röst-, ät- och sväljfunktioner. De logopediska insatserna syftar även till att både barn och vuxna med kommunikations- eller ät- och sväljstörningar ska kunna leva på bästa sätt med de svårigheter som kvarstår, för att uppnå så goda förutsättningar för kommunikation, ätande och delaktighet som möjligt.

Grundbok i LOGOPEDI är en omfattande introduktion till ämnet. De fem olika delarna består av 41 kapitel skrivna av 57 författare. Del I introducerar läsaren till logopedin som profession och ämne. Del II beskriver utvecklingsrelaterade språk- och talstörningar och därefter följer del III som handlar om förvärvade språk- och talstörningar. Del IV handlar om röststörningar och del V om ät- och sväljstörningar.

Varje del börjar med ett kapitel som ger en teoretisk översikt och avslutas med två kapitel om bedömning respektive intervention. Till boken finns en digital del med kompletterande material.

Boken är avsedd för studerande vid logopedutbildningarna och är samtidigt en både bred och djup källa till information och fortbildning om logopedi för yrkesutövare inom logopedi och andra professioner.

Purpose: To explore children's experiences of mealtimes when living with a gastrostomy tube.Design and methods: The study used a qualitative descriptive design framed within ecocultural theory. Seven children, three girls and four boys, aged 6–12 years with long-term health conditions and a gastrostomy tube participated in individual interviews. The interviews were qualitatively analysed by means of systematic text condensation.

Results: Four main categories comprised the findings of the children's mealtimes experiences: “Stable in form, open to variation,” “An individual, and a shared activity,” “An object that needs to be dealt with” and “A part of me.” A complex picture emerged, where the children experienced nutrition, whether through the gastrostomy tube or orally, as necessary for a healthy body, although this did not suffice to make the mealtime experience positive.

Conclusions: Regardless of the children's amount of oral intake, everyday mealtimes were valued as opportunities for social interaction and experienced as a predictable, routine activity no different from the mealtimes of other families. The accounts illustrated that in many situations the children knew precisely what they needed and did not need, what they liked and disliked and why.

Practice implications: Healthcare professionals should take children's knowledge into consideration to a greater extent when planning follow-up and intervention. The study illuminates that children can take an active part in their healthcare when offered flexible and carefully designed communication material, even in the presence of communicative and/or intellectual disability. © 2020 The Author(s). 

The aim of this thesis is to explore routines and rituals related to feeding, eating, and mealtimes in families that have a child with a gastrostomy tube (G-tube), from the perspectives of healthcare professionals, the children, and their parents. The thesis is based on four empirical studies. Study I is a longitudinal, quantitative study with the aim to describe children with developmental or acquired disorders receiving a G-tube, and to compare characteristics, contacts with healthcare professionals, and longitudinal eating outcomes. Findings from Study I demonstrated that children with developmental disorders needed G-tube feeding for longer than children with acquired disorders. Children with developmental disorders were also younger at G-tube placement, and had more multidisciplinary healthcare. These findings led to the subsequent studies focused specifically on children with developmental disorders. 

Study II applies mixed methods and explores everyday life, health care, and intervention goals during the first year following G-tube placement through the documentation in medical records. In Studies III and IV, the experiences of family mealtimes for children with a G-tube and their parents are collected through individual interviews that are analysed qualitatively. Triangulation of methods, participants, researchers, and data across the four studies is applied to search for confirmation between findings, as well as to identify areas of discrepancy. Ecocultural theory, the WHO framework ICF, and the concept of participation form the conceptual framework of the thesis. Taken together, findings from the studies describe how the main experiences of feeding, eating, and mealtime relate to specific impairments of the child, the collective value attached to family mealtimes, and the parental responsibility to harmonise competing interests and conflicts among family members and/or healthcare professionals. 

This thesis extends previous research by focusing on the ecocultural context of the child in combination with a dimensional understanding of health. The findings shed light on measures taken by the families themselves to adjust to and handle their daily lives, as well as spell out areas where more support is needed. Furthermore, this thesis suggests that an expanded focus on children’s participation in everyday mealtimes, and in the healthcare follow-up of G-tube feeding, is important in enhancing intervention outcomes.

Built on the important functions daily routines serve families and child health, this study aimed to explore parents’ descriptions of mealtimes and food-related challenges when living with a child using a gastrostomy feeding tube. The study was informed by ecocultural theory and based on in-depth interviews combined with stimulated recall. The interviews of 10 parents were inductively analyzed by means of qualitative content analysis. Four main categories comprised the parents’ descriptions: “One situation, different functions,” “On the child’s terms,” “Doing something to me,” and “An unpredictable pattern,” with one overarching theme. The analyses showed that the parents strived to establish mealtimes in line with their cultural context, although they struggled to reach a point of satisfaction. The study highlights the importance of health care professionals to address the medical aspects of caring for a child with a G-tube, but also the potential psychological and social consequences for ordinary family life. © The Author(s) 2021.

Background: Everyday routines play a vital role in child functioning and development. This study explored health professionals’ documentation of everyday life and health care during the first year following gastrostomy tube placement in children and the content of intervention goals. Methods: The medical records of 39 children (median age 38 months, min–max: 15–192) in one region of Sweden were analysed. A content analysis approach was used with an inductive qualitative analysis supplemented by a deductive, quantitative analysis of documented intervention goals following the ICF-CY. Results: One overall theme, “Seeking a balance”, captured the view of life with a gastrostomy and the health care provided. Two categories, “Striving for physical health” and “Depicting everyday life” with seven sub-categories, captured the key aspects of the documentation. Twenty-one children (54%) had intervention goals related to the gastrostomy, and these goals primarily focused on the ICF-CY component “Body functions”. Conclusions: To some extent the medical records reflected different dimensions of everyday life, but the intervention goals clearly focused on bodily aspects. Understanding how health care for children using a gastrostomy is documented and planned by applying an ecocultural framework adds a valuable perspective and can contribute to family-centred interventions for children using a gastrostomy.Implications for Rehabilitation There is a need for increased awareness in healthcare professionals for a more consistent and holistic healthcare approach in the management of children with gastrostomy tube feeding. This study suggests that an expanded focus on children’s participation in everyday mealtimes and in the healthcare follow-up of gastrostomy tube feeding is important in enhancing the intervention outcome. Multidisciplinary teams with a shared bio-psycho-social understanding of health would contribute to a situation in which the everyday lives of households adapt to living with gastrostomy. Routine care for children with gastrostomy should follow a checklist combining crucial physiological aspects of gastrostomy tube feeding with seemingly mundane family functions in order to achieve a successful gastrostomy tube feeding intervention.  © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.