Part of this NIH research award work includes:
"investigate the Minimal Clinically Important Difference in outcomes; ..........and start the work needed to establish a trial for severely affected children."
https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/SRF-2013-06-013
This award was supposed to end in Feb 2019, but I'm sure she will have other funds available.
Plain English Summary:
Paediatric chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is common and disabling yet little is known about recovery, whether Graded Exercise Therapy (GET) is effective, or what treatment strategies might work in children who are severely affected by CFS/ME. This programme of work will: determine what is known about recovery and how to define it; investigate the Minimal Clinically Important Difference in outcomes; study how to deliver GET; conduct a multicentre trial investigating the effectiveness of GET compared with activity management for mildly and moderately affected children, and start the work needed to establish a trial for severely affected children.
So this trial was essentially as a platform to generate data to then implement GET for the severely affected. I mean in the severe we shouldn’t even be using the term GET because It isn’t , what they would say is rehabilitation or GAT. What I find bewildering is when I look at pictures of other really severe people the thing that pops in my head isn’t oh they look like could /should be doing more. I understand the concept of central centralisation or other mysterious ways Rehabilitation strategies seem to help “some” in our area and I personally think that’s undeniable from anecdote but i don’t know why that comes to mind as what to focus on for twenty years versus biomedical research and finding medical treatments aside from that fact people like Esther Crawley aren’t really qualified to do the other.