ABSTRACT
Children with physical disabilities are often treated in physical therapy without a parent present, under the assumption that the parent may "interfere" with therapy and/or the child will be too distracted if a parent is present. The effectiveness of a therapy program with parental involvement was compared to a program without parents involved. Results indicate that training with the mother present was as effective as training without the mother. Our data showed that therapists working with parents can accomplish the goal of therapy in a shorter time period than when the child is treated without the parent.
Subject(s)
Parents , Physical Therapy Modalities , Cerebral Palsy/rehabilitation , Child, Preschool , Efficiency , Gait , Humans , InfantABSTRACT
The VALAD system consists of two devices, an axillary crutch (the PAAL crutch) and a forearm crutch (the FAD crutch). Children with various diagnoses have benefited from using these devices. This system has proven to be effective over the past six years at our hospital because it is adaptable to any situation and can be fabricated easily from materials and tools found at most hardware stores. After the therapist provides the final adjustments to the crutches, the children apply the final touches, decorative stickers.