Susan Collings

The obligate and facultatively anaerobic bacterial flora of the normal feline gingival margin

Samples from the gingival margins of 14 cats considered normal on clinical examination were cultured for facultative and obligate anaerobic bacteria. All mouths were free from any gingival marginal inflammation and tartar build-up; all cats were between 6 and 12 months of age. A mixed growth was obtained from all samples. The mean number of bacterial species per sample was 10.7 with a range of 7-16 isolates. Of the 150 isolates processed, 109 (72.66%) were obligate anaerobes. Of the facultatively anaerobic species, Actinomyces (including A. viscosus, A. hordeovulneris and A. denticolens) comprised 12%, Pasteurella multocida 9.33% of isolates and Propionibacterium species 6% of all isolates. Gram-negative bacilli belonging to the genera Bacteroides and Fusobacterium were isolated from 12 of the 14 samples, and comprised 77% of the obligate anaerobes isolated. Clostridium villosum comprised 10.1% of obligately anaerobic isolates, Wolinella species made up 6.42%, while 4.58% were Peptostreptococcus anaerobius. The most commonly isolated obligately anaerobic species was C. villosum and the most commonly isolated facultatively anaerobic species was P. multocida. These findings show a bacterial flora of the normal feline mouth which is very similar in composition to that of cat fight abscesses and feline pyothorax.

Children of parents with intellectual disability: Facing poor outcomes or faring okay?

Abstract Background Children of parents with intellectual disability are assumed to be at risk of poor outcomes but a comprehensive review of the literature has not previously been undertaken. Method A database and reference search from March 2010 to March 2011 resulted in 26 studies for review. Results Two groups of studies were identified. The first investigated an association between parental intellectual disability and child outcomes where there was significant disadvantage. Some findings suggest low parental intellectual capacity can negatively impact child outcomes, but others indicate child development approaches population norms. A second, small group of studies explored narrative accounts of childhood to find that social exclusion, bullying, and stigma are commonplace. Removal from parental care emerged as a significant risk for this group of children. Conclusions Studies focusing on child development represent 85% of the literature but reach no consensus about likely developmental or behavioural outcomes. Children studied usually come from clinical populations or other high-risk groups, and are typically young children.

Description of Porphyromonas circumdentaria sp. nov. and Reassignment of Bacteroides salivosus (Love, Johnson, Jones, and Calverley 1987) as Porphyromonas (Shah and Collins 1988) salivosa comb. nov.

A new species, Porphyromonas circumdentaria, is proposed for pigmented, asaccharolytic strains that were isolated from the gingival margins or mouth-associated diseases of cats. This bacterium is an obligately anaerobic, gram-negative, brown- or black-pigmented, asaccharolytic, nonmotile, nonsporing, rod-shaped organism which does not grow in bile and has a guanine-plus-cytosine content of 40 to 42 mol%. It produces major amounts of acetic, butyric, and isovaleric acids and minor amounts of propionic, isobutyric, and phenylacetic acids as end products of metabolism in cooked meat medium. Glutamate and malate dehydrogenases are present, while 6-phosphogluconate and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenases are absent. The major cellular fatty acid is 13-methyltetradecanoic acid (iso-C15:0 acid). P. circumdentaria strains are catalase positive and produce ammonia, and colonies fluoresce under short-wavelength UV light. These strains do not hemagglutinate erythrocytes, exhibit trypsinlike activity, or produce chymotrypsin or alpha-fucosidase. They are heavily piliated and produce a capsule. The type strain is strain VPB 3329 (= NCTC 12469). Bacteroides salivosus (D. N. Love, J. L. Johnson, R. F. Jones, and A. Calverley, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 37:307-309, 1987) is an obligately anaerobic, gram-negative, pigmented, asaccharolytic, nonmotile, rod-shaped organism which does not grow in bile and has a guanine-plus-cytosine content of 42 to 44 mol%. This organism produces major amounts of acetic, butyric, and phenylacetic acids and minor amounts of isobutyric and isovaleric acids as end products of metabolism in cooked meat medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Parental Learning Disability and Children's Needs: Family Experiences and Effective Practice

This book offers a window into the current operations of the child protection system in the United Kingdom. More than this, though, it provides a sobering insight into how well, or otherwise, this system operates for families headed by a parent with a learning disability. The authors analysed the case files of 228 referrals to Children’s Social Care, the UK’s statutory children’s service. Two groups of children were identified: a study group (n 1⁄4 76), who had a parent with a learning disability, and a comparison group (n 1⁄4 152), whose parents had no known disability. From the study group, 23 parents and their social workers were interviewed and 64 case files were followed up 3 years later. The magnitude of issues faced by families headed by a parent with learning disabilities was striking. In over half of cases these families had one or more children with a disability. Perhaps not surprisingly then, children from families headed by a parent with a learning disability were assessed as having greater needs than the comparison group across all measured domains: child developmental needs, parenting capacity, and family and environmental factors. They were five times more likely than their peers to have experienced multiple problems in all three domains. In two thirds of study group households both parents had a learning disability and in one third a single mother with a learning disability was raising her children without any identified informal support. The authors note that external factors have a role to play in how families headed by parents with learning disabilities are perceived. For example, they suggest that social workers’ attitudes and prejudices may help explain the higher referral rate for families headed by a parent with a learning disability. Despite the high rate of social isolation and complexity of children’s needs identified, over 80% of study group cases were closed to Children’s Social Care after an assessment and initial intervention because parenting was deemed to have improved sufficiently for them to no longer require support. Over half of these cases were re-referred within the follow-up period. The key findings of the study point to the complexity of problems faced by vulnerable families most in need of support and the inadequacy of shortterm intervention for them. In over 50% of cases where children were identified as having multiple needs at the first assessment, they continued to be in a similar situation 3 years later. The study provides evidence of a systemic lack of monitoring and followup in many of the cases reviewed, a lack of collaboration between children’s services and adult disability services, and a focus on immediate, crisisdriven response, rather than a systematic, planned, and holistic approach. The authors make a number of recommendations to improve policy and practice, which include that services be structured to provide support in a more ongoing manner and with greater collaboration between sectors; that information be made available to parents in an accessible format; that practitioners receive training and encouragement to utilise available resources on working appropriately with parents with learning disabilities; and that assessment and case review procedures are streamlined to improve consistency and response to needs. The material is ostensibly organised around the topics of referral, assessment, service provision, and child outcomes; however, a vast number of subheadings are used in each chapter. Some case files were incomplete and not all of the original study group were followed up after 3 years, so the size of the data group varies throughout the book. Similarly, interview excerpts and case examples, while illuminating and very moving, are scattered throughout the book and at times disrupt analysis of case file data. Further, the three domains used by Children’s Social Care to determine whether a child is in need and where support might be provided could have been successfully employed to organise the material within the book. While there is rich material here, it is not always easy to access by specific subject, stage of intervention, or group of participants. This potentially reduces its impact as a resource for practitioners Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, December 2009; 34(4): 329–330

Support planning with people with intellectual disability and complex support needs in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme

Support planning has emerged in the last decade in recognition of the rights of people with disability to determine the support they receive and has gained prominence as a process for allocating in...

More, better, or different? NDIS workforce planning for people with intellectual disability and complex support needs

In Australia the disability sector is radically changing the way services are offered to people with disability under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS; National Disability Insurance S...

“They need to be able to have walked in our shoes”: What people with intellectual disability say about National Disability Insurance Scheme planning

ABSTRACT Background: Planning is a key mechanism by which the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) ensures individuals with disability have choice and control over supports. People with intellectual disability will comprise the largest NDIS participant group and many will need assistance to engage in planning. In order to respond effectively, NDIS planners must understand the decision-making support required by individuals. Method: Focus groups were conducted with 9 adults with intellectual disability living in an NDIS trial site to explore their experiences of NDIS planning. Results: Thematic analysis identified 6 themes related to good planning experiences for people with intellectual disability: preparation, learning from mistakes, personal growth, and having a credible, consistent, and disability-aware planner. Conclusions: Participants who developed a trusting relationship with a planner used planning to increase independence and social participation. Planner skills, particularly communication and sector knowledge, and attributes such as warmth and openness created trust.

Intersectional Disadvantage: Exploring Differences Between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Parents with Intellectual Disability in the New South Wales Child Protection System

ABSTRACT Background: Parents with intellectual disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents are overrepresented in child removal but research has not explored the intersection of Aboriginality and intellectual disability in child protection. Methods: A case file review of 45 parents with intellectual disability (n = 14 Aboriginal and n = 31 non-Aboriginal) engaged in care proceedings in New South Wales was undertaken. Parent and child demographics and investigation triggers and outcomes were compared. Results: Aboriginal parents were significantly younger than non-Aboriginal parents at initiation of an investigation, twice as likely to be investigated due to concerns about parenting capacity, and more likely to have children removed than non-Aboriginal parents. Conclusion: The intersection of Aboriginality and intellectual disability appears to increase the risk of negative encounters with child protection systems. Targeted support for young Aboriginal parents and greater disability awareness and cultural sensitivity by child welfare workers are needed.

Unpacking the complexity of planning with persons with cognitive disability and complex support needs

BACKGROUND Planners will engage with people with cognitive disability and complex support needs in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme, but the specific skills needed to build sustainable plans with this group are not yet known. METHOD A qualitative study was conducted to explore the barriers and facilitators to planning with people with cognitive disability and complex support needs. Focus groups were held with 99 planning practitioners across metropolitan and regional locations in New South Wales, Australia. RESULTS Thematic analysis showed planners need to build a partnership based on mutual trust and respect with a person with complex support needs and harness a range of skills to respond to individual support needs, learning capacity, systemic hurdles and life challenges. CONCLUSIONS Planner skills can be used to address barriers to planning for people with cognitive disability and complex support needs. Gaining skills took professional support and personal commitment.

‘Testing it in the real world’: Using action research to apply a conceptual framework to social care planning:

This paper outlines an action research methodology used to create a practice-informed resource for social care in Australia. Practitioners and researchers worked together to develop, test and refin...