Collaborative Research | Grandview Kids
A child and his parents play with toys.

Collaborative Research

Research Report

2021-2022

Grandview continues to grow as a hub for recruitment and co-design.

Grandview Kids remains dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth with physical, communication and developmental needs by engaging in client and family-centred rehabilitation research. Working with our organizational partners, including Ontario Tech University, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation and McMaster University, we continue to build capacity in the community through knowledge exchange, consultation, and co-design. Our five research goals foster the development of new knowledge and innovative ideas across our organization.

Here are some of the ways we met our goals in 2021-22:

 

  1. Increased availability of research evidence
  2. Identified, trialed and assessed innovations and new practices
  3. Partnered in research, supported learning and drove improvement
  4. Increased internal capacity to support research and accelerated the adoption of evidence-based quality improvements
  5. Shared knowledge and innovative ideas externally
A Grandview Kid uses chalk to draw on a chalk board.

Informing evidence-based practice

Grandview Kids supports and promotes clinical and social research. All projects involving Grandview Kids staff, students, volunteers, clients or their families must be approved by the Grandview Kids Research Committee. This year, our multidisciplinary committee reviewed and approved twelve research studies. Such studies included an investigation seeking to better understand the experiences of children and youth who are visible minorities and have disabilities and student-led research identifying experiences and perceptions related to sleep in families who have a child with autism.

The Research Committee held its first virtual Grandview Kids Research Day on Friday, December 10, 2021. Members of Team Grandview, the Board of Trustees, community partners, and families had the opportunity to learn about research projects Grandview has supported over the past five years and how these projects have impacted children’s treatment centres in Ontario. These projects included work from more than 20 researchers, scientists and health professionals under the themes of technology and innovation, health and wellness, as well as equity, diversity, and inclusion. A highlight of the day included a keynote presentation on current neurodevelopmental research from world-renowned autism expert Dr. Edvokia Anagnostou.

Grandview Kids’ Research committee hosts lunch and learn workshops

 

To further our internal knowledge translation capacity, Grandview Kids’ Research Committee hosted five Lunch and Learn presentations. Staff were invited to listen to internal and external speakers on a range of topics relating to developmental and health research. The series included presentations focused on research supporting children and youth with cerebral palsy, sleep and mental health, the use of simulation to address at-risk behaviours in children, medical management for children with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and the impact of racism on child health.

A Grandview Kid reaches for a pencil and paper to draw while in the Grandview Kids’ waiting room.

Celebrating Partnerships In Research

Our research team partnered with Grandview Kids’ Youth Advisory Committee member Elliot Smith this year. As a strong advocate for employment opportunities for youth with disabilities, Elliot’s manuscript titled ‘Employment Equity: Setting up Persons with Disability for Success’ was accepted for publication in the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity. This journal is an open-access e-journal focused on critically engaging in various equity discussions within the autism community. We want to thank Elliot for his dedication to this work and for helping to shape the conversation about what meaningful employment can look like for youth.

Author and Youth Advisory Council member, Eliiot Smith, gives two thumbs up to the camera.

Expanding our reach

The addition of the Research Coordinator and Knowledge Broker has extended the capacity of Grandview Kids to contribute to research actively. This new role will support the Research Assistant in maintaining research partnerships with CP-NET and PONDA while supporting senior leaders in evidence-informed decision-making. This team commits to engaging families in research. Research at Grandview Kids is widely shared with our community partners through events like Research Day, and our strategic plan embeds the voices of families.

Grandview Kids:
A constant source of relief and reassurance

 

Meet Reid, a story told by Claudia Nossier

Reid and his family are no stranger to facing challenges and overcoming them. Reid started his Grandview journey as a young child accessing speech therapy and attending Campbell Children’s School (CCS). Despite his extreme speech delay and as a result, shyness, the intensive intervention at Grandview gave him his voice and led him to a path of leadership in class and with friends and a love for contact sports.

In 2020, Reid caught influenza that led to severe brain inflammation and lesions that nearly took his life. He was diagnosed with a very rare condition called, Acute Necrotizing Encephalopathy of Childhood (ANEC) with a RANbp2 mutation. This traumatic brain injury left him with vision and brain scarring, and months of in-hospital rehabilitation relearning how to stand, walk and talk. As a result, he fatigues easily, has extreme weakness in his limbs and a poor reaction time, making him prone to head injury and falls.

 

Reid is now 12 years old and is still trying to figure out his new identity as he is no longer allowed to play contact sport. Despite their difficult situation, mom attests that Grandview Kids has always been a source of relief and reassurance. At the onset of his illness, she had to fiercely advocate for her son to get medical attention. Once returning to the community and transferring to Grandview, she could finally rest and breathe knowing the supports were in place.

Grandview Kids provides Reid with social work, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and recreational therapy. His Grandview team is working tirelessly with him to rebuild different neuropathways to avoid head hits and injuries and increase his overall strength. They are looking to new sports that he can play, such as golf, in hopes of regaining his athletic identity. These services as vital to his mental and physical well-being. His response time has dramatically improved and his confidence is being rebuilt.

Grandview Kids, Reid, smiles at the camera.

I cannot go back in time to change what happened but knowing that I have Grandview working so hard with him to improve his quality of life is truly priceless

Reid’s Mother

We look forward to continuing our development and reach within the Durham Region community next year.

THANK YOU

Thank you for making a profound impact on Grandview kids’ lives, helping them move, play, learn, communicate and connect in ways their families never thought possible. We are excited for this next chapter as we journey together towards a bold new beginning of hope, belonging, discovery and celebration of Grandview Kids and paediatric excellence in our community.