Tasman link for child studies

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33448, 1 February 1974, Page 5

Tasman link for child studies

(N.Z. Press Association) DUNEDIN. Research workers in child development at the Otago Medical School and in Australia have combined their resources to study links between difficult births and the later development of children. The Tasman co-operation is aimed at throwing light on some of the causes of serious childhood disorders in order to improve preI vention, recognition, and 'treatment. The Otago project, under the leadership of Mr P. j Silva, a research psychologist at the Medical ! School’s paediatric departIment, is concentrating, among other, things, on . problems which appear in the first few days of life. These include disorders such as prematurity, respiration difficulties, and' jaundice. I The Australian project, at present ’.eing established, will focus on difficulties, i during gestation and

ery, with the aim of preventing later developmental problems. This study will be centred ‘ in Sydney, where a child-de-i velopment research unit is I being set up by Foundation ! 41, a medical research foun- ; dation set up last year by ’Dr William Mcßride, the 1 internationally known Syd- ' ney obstetrician and gynaecologist, who uncovered [the thalidomide tragedy. As its name suggests, the ( work of the foundation will focus on the development of '■ the child during the first 41 , weeks of life — from con- . ception to the first week [ after birth. Both the Australian and . New Zealand programmes will be closely linked. Mr Silva, who is consultant to I the Sydney unit, has also , been asked to direct the Foundation 41 project, from [ Otago. MANY FACTORS Mr Silva said that new i techniques and approaches i developed in the Dunedin study, which has been under : way since 1971, will be . adopted in Australia and i.used as the basis-for further •i developments,

The psychologist at the I Sydney unit would spend an initial period of training in I Dunedin so that he was ■ made familiar with the techniques used there. 1 The Dunedin project, ; known as the Queen Mary Hospital multi disciplinary : child development study, ' was examining a wider ’ range of factors contributing I to children’s development. , These included not only • some of the problems that ■ children experienced after birth, but also environmental factors, parental character- ; istics, apd learning ex--Iperience. “The New Zealand study 1 aims to improve knowledge ’of the causes of devel- ' opmental disorders, and pre- ' ventive techniques, as well 'as the identification of ! young children with prob--1 lems and ways of treating them,” Mr Silva said. “The Australian study, which will begin soon, has similar aims; ; but the main one is the prei vention of problems.” • But while it is similar, it - will also be faced with parI ticular problems, because of ■ the foreign language background or many parents,

It will focus on aspects of visual-motor performance (muscular co-ordination) rather than aspects of verbal development, which is a feature of the Otago study.

Mr Silva has been impressed by the importance of early language development in children, and further work in the treatment of language disorders is planned.

WORLD-WIDE INTEREST The New Zealand project, financed by the Medical Research Council, was set under way by Dr P.M. Buckfield, a senior lecturer in the paediatrics department and an honorary director of the study. She has carefully documented the medical records of every baby born at, or admitted to, Queen Mary Maternity Hospital since August, 1967.

Dr Buckfield has now compiled records of 12,000 children, to be used as a basis for investigating the incidence of child mortality, congenital faults, and other aspects of child development.

Her publications have aroused world-wide interest,