A qualitative exploration of parents' experiences of infant and toddler sleep and feeding during the United Kingdom COVID-19 lockdown(s).

COVID-19 restrictions had a significant impact on family life, including daily activities and routines. This study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's sleep and feeding behaviours, through undertaking reflexive thematic analysis of parents' open-text box responses to survey questions related to their child's sleep and feeding practices during COVID-19 restrictions. Six hundred and ninety one parents of children aged 0-24 months old who were living in the United Kingdom completed an online questionnaire between 14th December 2020 and 15th January 2021.

Breastfeeding Experiences During the COVID-19 Lockdown in the United Kingdom: An Exploratory Study Into Maternal Opinions and Emotional States.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely impacted upon people's psychological and physical wellbeing; however, the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on mothers of young children, with particular regard to breastfeeding, are unknown.

Research Aims: To explore: (1) Sources of advice and support available to breastfeeding mothers during and prior to the COVID-19 lockdown; (2) Mothers' opinions on statements and recommendations made by the World Health Organization on the importance of breastfeeding and breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) Maternal emotional states (i.e.

Gait Pattern and Motor Performance During Discrete Gait Perturbation in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Quantitative evaluation of gait has been considered a useful tool with which to identify subtle signs of motor system peculiarities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is a paucity of studies reporting gait data in ASD as well as investigating learning processes of locomotor activity. Novel advanced technologies that couple treadmills with virtual reality environments and motion capture systems allows the evaluation of gait patterns on multiple steps and the effects of induced gait perturbations, as well as the ability to manipulate visual and proprioceptive feedbacks.

Engaging with the self: Mirror behaviour in autism, Down syndrome and typical development.

Children with autism achieve mirror self-recognition appropriate to developmental age, but are nonetheless reported to have problems in other aspects of a sense of self. We observed behaviour in the mirror in 12 pre-school children with autism, 13 pre-school children with Down syndrome (DS) and 13 typically developing (TD) toddlers. Reliable differences in reflecting actions, social relatedness and positive affect towards themselves, and an absence of coy smiles differentiated the children with autism from the others.