We work to improve the interface between health and education. This involves providing clinical services, for example assessing and teaching children whose education has been compromised by their health condition, and also conducting research into how illness affects children’s learning ability.
Our current research involves studying cognitive outcomes in children with various conditions such as epilepsy, neurofibromatosis type 1, cancer, and children who have had febrile seizures following vaccination. The aim is to be able to predict future cognitive problems so that intervention and support can be given to children as early as possible.
CHERI was established in 1996, in association with the University of Western Sydney, University of Sydney, NSW Department of Education and Training, and the Catholic Education Commission of NSW. It is now a highly regarded and nationally recognised institute.
The research team
> Dr Belinda Barton, CHERI head, email: belinda.barton@health.nsw.gov.au
Belinda is a registered psychologist who helps sick children with the cognitive and educational aspects of their condition. Treatment for many conditions can affect the brain and alter children’s ability to learn, and these effects can linger into adulthood. Research leading to the most effective cognitive and educational interventions is crucial.
A major area of Belinda’s work is the study of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), where a cholesterol-lowering drug has been shown to reverse learning difficulties. She is also researching adults who survived childhood cancer, to see how their behaviour can affect their health, and is looking at the long term cognitive effects of children who have seizures.
Please visit Belinda's University of Sydney profile page for more information.
> Other Research Team Members
- Dr Robert Battisti, Clinical Psychologist, Long Term Follow up, Oncology
- Dr Jennifer Lorenzo, Research Psychologist, interventions for children with NF1
- Mrs Marianne Fernandes, Education Program Coordinator, Back on Track
- Mrs Donna Gurka, Education Program Coordinator, Back on Track
- Ms Sallwa Hourani, Education Program Coordinator, Back on Track
- Ms Trisha Donovan, Education Program Coordinator, Back on Track
Key publications
Papers under review
Pride, N.A., Barton, B., Hutchins, P., Coghill, D.R., Korgaonkar, M.S., Hearps, S.J.C., Malarbi,S., et al., The effects of methylphenidate on cognition and behaviour in children with neurofibromatosis type 1: a study protocol for a randomised placebo-controlled crossover trial. British Medical Journal Open.
Amatoury, M., Olivier, J., Maguire, A., Dalla-Pozza, L., Battisti, R., Barton, B., Steinbeck, K. & Gabriel, M. Salivary cortisol reveals overt and hidden anxiety in survivors of childhood cancer attending clinic. Journal of Affective Disorders.
Stewart, E., Catroppa, C., Gill, D., Webster, R., Lawson, J., Mandalis, A., Sabaz, M., Barton, B. & Lah, S. Theory of mind and social competence in children with genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE): relationships to epilepsy severity and anti-epileptic drugs. Seizures.
Peer reviewed publications
Gascoigne, M., Smith, M., Barton, B., Webster, R., Gill, D., Lah, S. (accepted March 2018). Accelerated long-term forgetting and behavioural difficulties in children with epilepsy. Cortex.
Afshar, S., Porter, M., Barton, B., Stormon, M. (accepted March 2018). Intellectual and academic outcomes after pediatric liver transplantation: Relationship with transplant-related factors. American Journal of Transplantation.
Arnold, S.S., Payne, J.M., Lorenzo, J., North, K.N. & Barton, B. (in press). Preliteracy impairments in young children with neurofibromatosis type 1. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology.
Chen, K., Didsbury, M., van Zwieten, A., Howell, M., Kim, S., Tong. A., Howard, K., Nassar, N., Barton. B, et al. (2018). Neurocognitive and educational outcomes in children and adolescents with chronic kidney disease. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 13(3), 387-397
Gascoigne, M.B., Smith, M.L., Barton, B., Webster, R., Gill, D. & Lah, S. (2017). Attention deficits in children with epilepsy: Preliminary findings. Epilepsy & Behavior, 67, 7-12.
Pride, N.A., Korgaonkar, M.S., North, K.N., Barton, B. & Payne, J.M. (2017). The neural basis of deficient response inhibition in children with neurofibromatosis type 1: Evidence from a functional MRI study. Cortex: A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior, 93, 1-11.
Grayson-Collins. J., Gascoigne, M.B., Barton, B., Webster, R., Gill, D., & Lah, S. (2017). Longitudinal study of accelerated long-term forgetting in children with genetic generalized epilepsy: Evidence of ongoing deficits. Cortex
Arnold, S.S., Barton, B., McArthur, G., North, K.N. & Payne, J.M. (2016). Phonics training improves reading in children with neurofibromatosis type 1: A prospective intervention trial. The Journal of Pediatrics, 177, 219-226.
Crawford, H., Barton, B., Wilson, M., Berman, Y., McKelvey-Martin, V., Morrison, P. & North, K.N. (2016). Uptake of health monitoring and disease self-management in Australian adults with neurofibromatosis type 1: strategies to improve care. Clinical Genetics, 89(3), 385-391.
*Payne, J.M., *Barton, B. (*co first authors), Ullrich, N.J., Cantor, A., Hearps, S.J.C, Cutter, G., et al. (2016). Randomized placebo-controlled study of lovastatin in children with neurofibromatosis type 1. Neurology, 87, 2575-2584.
Crawford, H.A., Barton, B., Wilson, M.J., Berman, Y., McKelvey-Martin, V.J., Morrison, P.J., et al. (2015). The impact of neurofibromatosis type 1 on the health and wellbeing of Australian adults. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 24, 931-944.
Crawford H.A., Barton, B., Wilson, M.J., Berman, Y., McKelvey-Martin, V.J., Morrison, P.J. & North, K.N. (2015). Uptake of health monitoring and disease self-management in Australian adults with neurofibromatosis type 1: strategies to improve care. Clinical Genetics.
Gascoigne, M.B., Barton, B., Webster, R., Gill, D. & Lah, S. (2015). Autobiographical memory in children with idiopathic generalised epilepsy. Neuropsychologia, 66, 10-17.
Lorenzo J., Barton, B., Arnold S. & North K.N. (2015) Developmental trajectories of young children with neurofibromatosis type 1: A longitudinal study from 21 to 40 months of age. The Journal of Pediatrics, 166(4), 1006-1012.e1.
Rush, A., Battisti, R., Barton, B. & Catchpoole, D. (2015). Opinions of young adults on re-consenting for bio banking. The Journal of Pediatrics, 167, 925-930.
Wakefield, C., Sansom-Daly, U., McGill, B., McCarthy, M., Girgis, A., Grootenhuis, M., Barton, B., Patterson, P., Osborn, M., Lowe, C., et al (2015). Online parent-targeted cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention to improve quality of life in families of young cancer survivors: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 16(1), 12.
Pride, N., Korgaonkar, M., Barton, B., Payne, J., Vucic, S. & North, K.N. (2014). The genetic and neuroanatomical basis of social dysfunction: Lessons from neurofibromatosis type 1. Human Brain Mapping, 35(5), 2372-2382.
Gascoigne, M.B., Smith, M.L., Barton, B., Webster, R., Gill, D. & Lah, S. (2014). Accelerated long-term forgetting in children with temporal lobe epilepsy. Neuropsychologia, 59, 93-102.
Gascoigne, M.B., Smith, M.L., Webster, R., Barton, B., Gill, D. & Lah, S. (2013). Autobiographical memory in children with temporal lobe epilepsy. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 19, 1076-1086.
Lorenzo, J., Barton, B., Arnold, S.S. & North, K.N. (2013). Cognitive features that distinguish preschool-age children with neurofibromatosis type 1 from their peers: A matched case-control study. The Journal of Pediatrics, 163, 1479-1483.
Pride, N., Korgaonkar, M., Payne J.M., Barton, B. & North, K.N. (2013). The genetic and neuroanatomical basis of social dysfunction – lessons from neurofibromatosis type 1. Human Brain Mapping.
Payne J.M., Barton, B., Shores E.A. & North K.N. (2013). Visuospatial learning deficits in children with NF1: Extrapolating from the mouse behavioral phenotype to human clinical trials. J Neurol. 260 (1), 214-20.
Fitzsimons, D.A., Jones, D.L., Barton, B. & North, K.N. (2012). A procedure for the computerized analysis of cleft palate speech transcription. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 26, 18-38.
Gascoigne, M.B., Barton, B., Webster, R., Gill, D., Antony, J. & Lah, S. (2012). Accelerated long-term forgetting in children with idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Epilepsia, 53, 2135-2140.
George, A., Vickers, M.H., Wilkes, L. & Barton, B. (2011). Financial implications of working full time and caring for a child with chronic illness. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(3), 131-140.
Lorenzo, J., Barton, B., Acosta, M.T. & North, K.N. (2011). Mental, motor, and language development of toddlers with neurofibromatosis type 1. The Journal of Pediatrics, 158, 660-665.
Book
Barton, B. & Peat, J. (2014). Medical Statistics. A guide to SPSS, data analysis and critical appraisal. 2nd ed’n. BMJ Books, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, US.
