Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre

Recent Publications

Recent Publications underpinning approaches for Early Detection & Early Intervention for Infants at risk of Cerebral Palsy and Neurodevelopmental disability. 

Early surveillance

  1. Burgess, A., Luke, C., Jackman, M., Wotherspoon, J., Whittingham, K., Benfer, K., Goodman, S., Caesar, R., Nesakumar, T., Bora, S., Honeyman, D., Copplin, D., Reedman, S., Cairney, J., Reid, N., Sakzewski, L., & Boyd, R. N. (2025). Clinical utility and psychometric properties of tools for early detection of developmental concerns and disability in young children: A scoping review. Dev Med Child Neurol, 67(3), 286-306.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.16076.
  2. Benfer, K. A., Ghosh, A. K., Chowdhury, S., Moula, G., Samanta, S., Maiti, P., Bhattacharya, A., Khan, N. Z., Whittingham, K., Ware, R. S., Morgan, C., Bandaranayake, S., Novak, I., & Boyd, R. N. (2025). Early detection of infants with neurodevelopmental concerns indicative of cerebral palsy in a lower middle-income country (India). Dev Med Child Neurol, 67(12), 1554-1563.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.16351
  3. Luke, C., Benfer, K. A., Mick-Ramsamy, L., Ware, R. S., Bosanquet, M., Reid, N., Bos, A. F., & Boyd, R. N. (2025). Predicting neurodevelopmental outcomes in Australian First Nations infants: The transdiagnostic utility of early screening tools. Dev Med Child Neurol.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.70003
  4. Kwong, A. K., Eeles, A. L., Anderson, P. J., Arunanthy, S., Badawi, N., Boyd, R. N. P., Cameron, K. L., Colditz, P. B., Crowle, C., Dale, R., Doyle, L. W., George, J. M., Koorts, P. J., Lee, K. J., Luke, C. R., McNamara, L., Morgan, C., Novak, I., Olsen, J. E., Reid, N. G., Scuffham, P., Whittingham, K., Cheong, J. L., & Spittle, A. J. (2025). Early high risk of cerebral palsy classification is predictive of cerebral palsy at 2 years: an implementation cohort study. Arch Dis Child, 111(1), 76-83.  https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2025-329242.
  5. Moula, M., Benfer, K., Boyd, R., & Sakzewski, L. (2024). Implementation of Learning through Everyday Activities with Parents of Infants with CP (LEAP CP) early detection and intervention program in India Developmental Medicine And Child Neurology, Cairns, QLD Australia.  http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:2956cd0
  6. Luke C, Mick-Ramsamy L, Bos AF, Benfer KA, Bosanquet M, Gordon A, et al. Relationship between early infant motor repertoire and neurodevelopment on the hammersmith infant neurological examination in a developmentally vulnerable First Nations cohort. Early Human Development 2024;192:106004.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2024.106004
  7. Jackman M, Morgan C, Luke C, Korostenski L, Zawada K, Juarez M, et al. The predictive validity of HINE, Bayley, general movements and MOS-R in infancy. Early Human Development 2025;203:106226.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2025.106226

MOS-R

  1. Einspieler C, Bos AF, Krieber-Tomantschger M, Alvarado E, Barbosa VM, Bertoncelli N, et al. Cerebral Palsy: Early Markers of Clinical Phenotype and Functional Outcome. J Clin Med 2019;8(10).  https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8101616
  2. Luke, C., Bos, A. F., Jackman, M., Ware, R. S., Gordon, A., Finn, C., Baptist, D. H., Benfer, K. A., Bosanquet, M., & Boyd, R. N. (2025). Reproducibility of the Motor Optimality Score-Revised in infants with an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Dev Med Child Neurol.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.16256
  3. Kwong AKL, Doyle LW, Olsen JE, Eeles AL, Lee KJ, Cheong JLY, et al. Early motor repertoire and neurodevelopment at 2 years in infants born extremely preterm or extremely-low-birthweight. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology 2022;64(7):855-62.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15167

BabyOSCAR

  1. Peyton C, Aaby D, Barbosa VM, Boswell L, de Regnier RA, Bos AF, et al. Baby Observational Selective Control AppRaisal (BabyOSCAR): Scores at 3 months predict functional ability, spastic cerebral palsy distribution, and diagnosis at 2 years. Dev Med Child Neurol 2024.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15925
  2. Sukal-Moulton T, Barbosa VM, Sargent B, Boswell L, de Regnier RA, Bos AF, et al. Baby Observational Selective Control AppRaisal (BabyOSCAR): Convergent and discriminant validity and reliability in infants with and without spastic cerebral palsy. Dev Med Child Neurol 2024.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15924
  3. Barbosa VM, Peyton C, Sukal-Moulton T. Baby Observational Selective Control AppRaisal (BabyOSCAR): Construct validity and test performance. Dev Med Child Neurol 2024.  https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15926

Early MRI and EEG for detecting CP

  1. Bonezzi, L., Rocchitelli, L., Biagioni, T., Chorna, O., Pannek, K., Luke, C., Ware, R. S., Fripp, J., Guzzetta, A., Fiori, S., & Boyd, R. N. (2026). Comparative Diagnostic Performance of Early and Term MRI in Preterm Infants: a Diagnostic Test Accuracy Systematic review and Bayesian Meta-analysis. Neonatology, 1–19. Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1159/000552875.
  2. Bonezzi, L., Biagioni, T., Fiori, S., Luke, C., George, J. M., Colditz, P. B., Fripp, J., Ware, R. S., Pannek, K., & Boyd, R. N. (2026). Concordance and Association of Kidokoro MRI Scores at 32 and 40 weeks post-menstrual age with Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants. AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology, ajnr.A9350. Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A9350.

Early Intervention

  1. Boyd, R. N., Greaves, S., Ziviani, J., Novak, I., Badawi, N., Pannek, K., Elliott, C., Wallen, M., Morgan, C., Valentine, J., Findlay, L., Guzzetta, A., Whittingham, K., Ware, R. S., Fiori, S., Maitre, N. L., Heathcock, J., Scott, K., Eliasson, A. C., & Sakzewski, L. (2025). Randomized Comparison Trial of Rehabilitation Very Early for Infants with Congenital Hemiplegia. J Pediatr, 277, 114381.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114381.
  2. Guzzetta, A., Bancale, A., Bedoshvili, A., Bosanquet, M., Chorna, O., Corsi, G., Del Secco, S., Elliott, C., Fiori, S., Fripp, J., Gole, G. A., Gordon, A., Harpster, K., Hunt, R. W., Leishman, S., Mori, R., Morgan, C., Novak, I., Pagnozzi, A. M., Pannek, K., … Boyd, R. N. (2026). Vision Intervention for Seeing Impaired Babies: Learning through Enrichment (VISIBLE) - protocol of a feasibility pilot randomised controlled trial. BMJ open, 16(4), e114567.  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-114567
  3. Benfer KA, Whittingham K, Ware RS, Ghosh AK, Chowdhury S, Moula G,  Boyd RB et al. Efficacy of early intervention for infants with cerebral palsy in an LMIC: An RCT. Pediatrics. 2024;153(4):1-15.  https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-063854. 
  4. Benfer, Katherine, Boyd, Roslyn N, Roe, Yvette, Fagan, Ruth, Luke, Carly, Mick-Ramsamy, Leeann, Whittingham, Koa, Novak, Iona, Bosanquet, Margot, McNamara, Lynda, Khandaker, Gulam, Fogarty, Lucy, Cadet-James, Yvonne, Ruben, Alan, Comans, Tracy, Smith, Anthony and Ware, Robert S (2023). Study protocol: peer delivered early intervention (Learning through Everyday Activities with Parents for Infants at risk of Cerebral Palsy: LEAP-CP) for First Nation Australian infants at high risk of cerebral palsy - an RCT study. BMJ Open, 13 (3) e059531, 1-16. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059531.