Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The Collaboration for Down Syndrome Progress (CDP) is a long-term study that follows people with Down syndrome of all ages. The goal is to better understand their health, development, and everyday experiences over time. Participants and their caregivers will answer questions, share medical information, and may give samples like blood or saliva. Some participants may also take part in optional activities such as sleep studies, movement tracking, or brain imaging. By collecting the same types of information at many sites, the CDP will help researchers learn why certain health conditions are more common in people with Down syndrome and how to improve care and quality of life.

The purpose of this research study is to compare the Always Uniquely Me (AUM) mobile application to regular medical care. The investigators want to know if AUM is helpful at decreasing use of restraints and improving experience in the emergency department (ED) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (PWIDD). The investigators will also be looking at how certain characteristics of the PWIDD participants may affect those outcomes.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition when a baby has a brain injury that affects their movement and muscle tone. Some people with CP can have other developmental issues, like learning impairments, but many do not and have isolated issues with their motor skills. Some newborns are at higher risk of developing CP, including babies born prematurely, those who have an injury to their brain, and those who have an abnormal neurological examination. However, most babies with a higher risk of CP do not develop CP. The problem is that doctors can't tell early on who will and who will not develop CP, they can only say who has a risk of it. Therefore, these babies are followed up in out-patient clinics to see how they are progressing, usually by a neonatologist (baby doctor), often a physiotherapist, and some may also be referred to services in the community like the Early Intervention Team. If there is a significant concern, doctors will often perform a scan of the baby's brain to provide more information. Even with all this follow-up, it still usually takes at least 12 months, and can be up to 2 years, to diagnose a child as having CP. In this study the aim is to try and reduce the age of diagnosis of CP by assessing children in high-risk out-patient clinics using novel and specific examinations. We would also like to improve our ability to predict who will need help with learning, language or other non-motor outcomes. This study is being conducted at several hospitals in Ireland, including Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), The Rotunda Hospital and the Coombe Women and Infants Hospital. It is being coordinated by the In4kids network and will be conducted in the INFANT Centre/ University College Cork (UCC). The study has been funded by Research Ireland and the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, USA.