dystonic cp

[estherderu]

Dear Colleague,
I would suggest to everyone treating children that you need to learn the GMFM. You can order the test manual /book including 3 DVD's on CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research
Reading and learning it ( proferably with others) it not only gives you the possibility to learn the test, it also gives you the possibility to think up new treatment goals.
We now realize that one of the biggest problem many children with neurological problems face is muscle weakness.

One of the new ways of treating children in a functional way is to give them the oppertunity to find their own solution to a problem. You only help make this easier. So if a child cannot sit alone, try teaching them to lower themselves from sit to supine or prone slowly (excentric), use 4point gate to slowly lower to sit. But most importantly, give the child the time to allow the movement, don't help. The suggestions made before are not bad but I personally miss the action. You cannot only passively move children. The child has to experience the weight change by doing it themselves.

Hope this helps a bit.

kind regards

esther

[humera]

Dear Estherderu,
I totally agree with you to learn and use GMFM in our pediatric practice as it really help to set treatment goals in more realistic way. also it gives the idea that which part of gross motor needs to get more work done.

the suggestions I made regarding dystonic child, I neverth meant to move child passively rather I wanted to say to facilitate the child. as we say facilitation in NDT/ Bobath approach, it is a proecess in which we try to give the child more active control gradually throughout the activity through our handling till the child can take over completely. I never meant to move child passively. It would be the problem with my writing abilities that I couldnt express the things properly. I am sorry for that.

the suggestions you made regarding eccentric work, I agree with you that it is vey helpful. we always try to facilitate activities not only in forward chaining but in the backward chaining at the same time and it gives child more active control to reach to the final activity in the single session.

Thnx once again for taking the time out to read my reply to the thread. your suggestions are always very helpful.

thnx.