We have produced an outcome measure in the Australian context for speech pathology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. There are six speech pathology scales, nine physiotherapy scales, and 11 occupational therapy scales in the AusTOMs. A clinician chooses the relevant scale(s) for the client (based on the goals of therapy) and makes a rating across all domains for each scale. Further papers will report on the reliability, validity, and clinical usefulness of the AusTOMs.

As measures of early communication skill for young infants, the CSBS-DP Behaviour Sample and the Infant-Toddler Checklist are valid clinical tools for measuring constructs broadly representing Social, Speech, and Symbolic communication skills. The Speech composite in particular emerged as a strong factor under the Behaviour Sample.

Developmental profiles show that some pre-schoolers' language is characterized by periods of accelerated development, slow development and catch-up growth. Given the uncertainty in classifying children into these profiles, use of this knowledge for identifying children who will be impaired on school entry is not straightforward. The findings do, however, indicate greater need for language enrichment programmes among disadvantaged children.

Parental support and education, as well as education of professionals who regularly have contact with young children, is necessary to support appropriate early identification of communication problems. Further research into service level factors such as availability and accessibility which may support or inhibit help/advice seeking is also indicated.

A central goal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is the development of clinical protocols for managing common medical problems that may impact breastfeeding success. These protocols serve only as guidelines for the care of breastfeeding mothers and infants and do not delineate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as standards of medical care. Variations in treatment may be appropriate according to the needs of an individual patient.Definitions

The theory provides a framework for considering the use of outcome measurement in clinical practice. Implications for implementing outcome measurement in clinical practice are discussed, including the need to clarify the role and need for the data; the requirement that clinicians understand how outcome measurement fits with context outside of their own personal purview; and the need for managers to support change to areas that are outside of the control of clinicians.

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A central goal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine is the development of clinical protocols for managing common medical problems that may impact breastfeeding success. These protocols serve only as guidelines for the care of breastfeeding mothers and infants and do not delineate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as standards of medical care. Variations in treatment may be appropriate according to the needs of an individual patient. 243