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Siblings represent an important influence on children's development. It is possible that sibling influence on developmental outcomes differs in sibling pairs when one of the children has a disability. Previous research has tended to focus on outcomes for typically developing siblings when they have a brother/sister with a disability. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore empirical studies reporting on the impact of siblings on the developmental outcomes of children with disability to better understand the areas that are influenced by siblings and the factors that contribute to this influence. To identify relevant studies, the electronic databases of EBSCO, ERIC, Informit, Ovid, ProQuest and Scopus were searched. These searches were supplemented by direction from the authors on relevant literature and citation searches of papers identified for inclusion. Descriptive details were extracted, followed by details related to research design and findings of the studies. Twenty-two papers were determined to meet inclusion criteria. Investigations of sibling influence have concentrated on children with ASD; other groups are not well represented. There is some evidence that having older siblings may be protective for children with ASD; however, this was not an invariable finding. There is too little consistency across studies to determine whether and how siblings influence development of children with disability. Further work is required to understand the potentially crucial influence that siblings may have on developmental outcomes of children with disability. • Siblings are overlooked as a source of influence on the development of their brothers/sisters with a disability. • Having an older sibling may be a positive influence for children with autism spectrum disorder. • There are a number of methodological decisions that researchers can take that will move the field forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Maternal behaviors and child mastery behaviors were examined in 25 children with Down syndrome and 43 typically developing children matched for mental age (24–36 months). During a shared problem-solving task, there were no group differences in maternal directiveness or support for autonomy, and mothers in the two groups used similar verbal strategies when helping their child. There were also no group differences in child mastery behaviors, measured as persistence with two optimally challenging tasks. However, the two groups differed in the relationships of maternal style with child persistence. Children with Down syndrome whose mothers were more supportive of their autonomy in the shared task displayed greater persistence when working independently on a challenging puzzle, while children of highly directive mothers displayed lower levels of persistence. For typically developing children, persistence was unrelated to maternal style, suggesting that mother behaviors may have different causes or consequences in the two groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study examined parental and family stress and functioning where there is a child with fragile X syndrome. Mothers and fathers in 40 families were asked about their child with fragile X syndrome, family supports, their psychological stress, the marital relationship, and their family stress. Results indicate parents were well adjusted in terms of their levels of psychological stress and in their marital relationships, however, parents reported high levels of family stress. Mothers and fathers were found to experience similar levels of stress and to report similar levels of satisfaction with supports. Stress was predicted by different variables in mothers and fathers, suggesting that different processes underlie their experiences. The strongest predictor of maternal stress was the level of marital satisfaction while the strongest predictor of paternal stress was the level of the child''s adaptive skills. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Self-regulation has been identified as an area of difficulty for those with mental retardation. The Goodman Lock Box provides measures of two critical aspects of self-regulation—planfulness and maintenance of goal-directed behavior. In this study, the Lock Box performance of 25 children with Down syndrome was compared with that of 43 typically developing children, matched for mental age (24–36 months). Children in both groups showed similar levels of competence, planfulness and distractibility. However, children with Down syndrome displayed more task-avoidant behavior. Some issues related to the measurements obtained from the Lock Box are raised. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Both siblings and parents are important interactional partners for children with ASD, but we know little about whether these interactions differ between these two groups, or between older and younger siblings.Aims: To gather data about how parents perceive the interactional behaviors displayed by their child with ASD in play with their typically developing siblings and their parents.Methods and Procedures: Parents completed a questionnaire developed for this study about the behaviors their children with ASD demonstrated when interacting with a sibling or parent. Following factor analysis, a 29-item instrument with two factors was revealed. Factors were labelled Prosocial Interaction and Withdrawal/Agonism.Outcomes and Results: In some families, children with ASD were reported to display significantly higher levels of negative interaction when playing with their older siblings in comparison to younger siblings. When playing with their children with ASD, parents reported significantly more negative interactions compared to when their children with ASD played with younger siblings. There were few differences reported for play behaviors with parents versus older siblings.Conclusions and Implications: Children with ASD appear to display different interactional behaviors depending upon their play partners within the family unit. This study could be used to inform researchers of different interaction strategies which may be useful in creating interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Context: In Australia, government policies support therapeutic interventions for children and young people (CYP) with challenging behaviours related to or secondary to disability, who are in out-of-home care. The aims of interventions are to enhance the skills of both CYP and foster caregivers/parents in order to enhance placement stability, community participation and the overall well-being of the CYP. These interventions are costly and time consuming for CYP, their foster caregivers/parents and the professionals/agencies involved, and evaluation of their effectiveness is warranted. Objectives: To review the effectiveness of current practices and interventions for CYP in out-of-home care who have challenging behaviours related to disabilities. Data sources: Databases searched included: PsycINFO (1840–September 2010), ERIC (1966–September 2010), MEDLINE (1950–September 2010), CINAHL (1982–September 2010), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, 2010), Social Services Abstracts (1979–September 2010), PAIS international (1972–September 2010), PsycARTICLES (1894–September 2010), Sociological abstracts (1952–September 2010). Study selection: Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials (RCT), non-randomised controlled trials, and cohort studies of interventions or programs for CYP with complex psychological and/or behavioural issues, and/or a disability in foster care were included. Data extraction: Details of study characteristics, population demographics and intervention content were tabulated. Qualitative analysis was performed by two independent raters using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale for RCTs and an adapted version of The Downs and Black Checklist for Measuring Study Quality (DB Scale) for non-randomised control trials. Data synthesis: Four studies met inclusion criteria (two RCTs and two non-randomised control trials). The two RCTS were of moderate methodological quality, each scoring five points (out of a maximum of 10) on the PEDro Scale. The two non-randomised control trials were of similar methodological quality, scoring 14–17 points (out of a maximum of 28) on the adapted Downs and Black Checklist. Content: The included studies evaluated a variety of interventions which differed considerably with respect to services offered, approach/philosophy, service delivery models and intensity/duration. Two of the four studies were of behaviourally based parent training interventions. Whilst the other two studies also involved parent training, the primary focus of intervention was the implementation of individualised case management plans by key stakeholders in the CYP''s life. The frequency of intervention and length of follow-up in the included studies varied greatly. Three of the reviewed studies reported positive outcomes for children and young people, as well as their caregivers/parents, whilst the fourth found no significant change. Conclusions: Studies generally demonstrated gains from the interventions provided, however the nature and extent of these benefits differed greatly across the various outcomes measured. Further, studies often did not take into account other factors which may have contributed towards the observed outcomes. In light of the complexity of providing services to CYP with behavioural issues and/or disability who are in out-of-home care, the costs associated with these services, and the risks if these are not effective, this review highlights the need the need for further research of the efficacy of support services for this group. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: Mothers of preterm infants during the first year of life may experience stresses greater that those found in mothers of term infants. The aim of the study was to determine the levels of parenting stress and psychological well-being in mothers of very preterm babies in comparison to a control group of term mothers. Methods: One hundred and five mothers who delivered 124 babies at ≤30weeks gestation were recruited together with 105 mothers who delivered 120 babies at term. At 4months of age (corrected for prematurity for the preterm babies), the mothers completed the Parenting Stress Index Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and the Short Temperament Scale for Infants (STSI). The preterm and term groups were compared. Results: Questionnaires were returned from 86 of the preterm mothers and 97 of the term mothers. The mean Total Stress score for the preterm and term groups was 67.0 and 63.79 respectively (P=0.32) with 17% of the preterm and 9% of the term group having high scores (P=0.135). There were no differences of the EPDS and the DAS between the groups. The temperament of the preterm infants was similar to the term infants. For both groups, scores on the EPDS, DAS and the STSI were independent predictors of Total Stress scores on multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: Parenting stress in mothers of preterm infants during early infancy does not appear to be greater than that in mothers of infants born at term. For both groups of mothers, depression symptoms, marital satisfaction and infant temperament were independent risk factors for high levels of parenting stress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]