Survey Reveals the Significance of Mothers Accompanying Their Children in the Rehabilitation Facility / The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine

ABSTRACT

At the time that they left the rehabilitation facility, we conducted a survey of mothers who had accompanied their children during their stay in the rehabilitation facility. We conducted a five-tiered evaluation of the extent of their satisfaction and of their answers to various questions and studied the significance of mothers accompanying their children during their stay in the rehabilitation facility. There were 334 respondents, and the response rate was 74%. According to the results, 91% were satisfied or somewhat satisfied ; 94% thought, or thought to a certain extent, "I was able to concentrate on engaging with my child more than at home"; 94% thought, or thought to a certain extent, "I gained a good understanding of how to handle childrearing and training at home"; 87% thought, or thought to a certain extent, "There was a positive change in my child, and I saw improvement in the way my child functioned"; and 87% thought, or thought to a certain extent, "It was good to be able to exchange information with other mothers and the staff." The importance of the role played in rehabilitation when mothers and children attended the rehabilitation facility together thus became clear. When a child's motor functions improve through intensive training, and when the mother's motivation regarding rehabilitation increases and her ability to handle the child improves, it is highly significant in many ways improvement can be seen not only in motor development but also in psychological development. The child becomes easier to handle, the things that can be done in daily life, at home, increase ; and after leaving the facility, it is possible to link the advances made in the rehabilitation facility to setting and attaining new goals.