The Effects of Multidisciplinary Approach for Children with Feeding Disorder and Failure to Thrive on Their Mothers

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether intervention using a multidisciplinary approach affects maternal mental health, parenting stress, and sense of parenting competence in children with feeding disorder and failure to thrive (FTT). METHODS: Children with feeding disorder and FTT were randomized to the intervention group (N=11) or control group (N=8). We administered the Korean standardization of Parent Temperament Questionnaire for Children (K-PTQ) in both groups before intervention, and the Korean version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (K-PSI-SF), Korean version of the Parenting Sense of Competence (K-PSOC), Korean version of the Beck's Depression Inventory (K-BDI), Korean version of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (K-BAI), and Korean version of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (K-MDQ) in both groups before and after the intervention. RESULTS: In the intervention group, the K-BDI (p=.068), K-BAI (p=.068), and K-MDQ (p=.066) scores tended to show a decline, the K-PSI-SF scores for stress related to child learning showed a significant decline, and the K-PSOC scores for sense of parenting competence showed significant improvement. However, no significant changes were observed in the control group. CONCLUSION: Use of a multidisciplinary approach improved maternal mental health, parenting stress, and sense of competence. Comparison of these results with those of normal control will be necessary in a future study.

Diagnostic Evaluation and Rehabilitation in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and adaptive skills, which begins before the age of 18. Intellectual disability is lifelong disability that starts in infancy or the early childhood years but cannot be diagnosed accurately until the child is at least 5 years old, when standardized measures of intelligence become reliable and valid. For a person with intellectual disability, both proper diagnostic classification and functional classification are important in establishing a network of support. An optimal clinical genetics diagnosis is critical to understand etiology of intellectual disability syndromes. Supports of the child with intellectual disability should not only focus on the child and his condition, but also on the family. Developmental and educational interventions depending on the child's age should be emphasized. This report describes historical perspectives of intellectual disability, rehabilitative and neurodevelopmental approach for the children with intellectual disability, and the effectiveness of early intervention.