CYPW Research Network seminar- Shari Wade- When children are injured - family perspectives and current treatment options

Abstract: This presentation will focus on the impact of pediatric traumatic brain injuries on children across the developmental spectrum and their families. We will examine evidence supporting the impact of TBI on caregivers and families, the reciprocal relationship between child and family functioning, and how working with families can support and scaffold child recovery. The talk will describe three online family-centered interventions for infants/toddlers, preschool/early school-age children, and adolescents and present evidence regarding their acceptability and efficacy.

Bio: Shari Wade is a tenured professor at the University of Cincinnati and director of research in the division of Rehabilitation Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed a predoctoral internship at Yale University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Wade has conducted federally-funded research examining outcomes of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other conditions since 1991. This widely cited work has shaped how the field understands the role of social environmental factors, particularly on recovery and the effects of TBI on child neurocognitive and behavioral functioning over time. Her research highlights the essential role of parent and family functioning and parent-child interactions in the child’s recovery and longer-term development. This work examining predictors of recovery has translated to intervention development and she has been a pioneer in clinical trials of family-centered, telehealth intervention to reduce morbidity following pediatric traumatic brain injury. Her project spearheading the widespread clinical implementation of the Teen Online Problem-Solving program at 15 sites in the United States and Canada is among the first federally-funded implementation projects for pediatric TBI.