A national survey of over a thousand parents has explored the needs and c i rcumstances of families caring for a severely disabled child. The re s e a rc h , c a rried out by Bryony Bere s f o rd at the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, sought parents’ views of their and their child’s needs as well as their experiences as service users. Parents also re p o rted the care demands a...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of hippotherapy on functional outcomes using the Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) for children with physical disabilities. METHODS Participants included 4 children aged 5 to 9 years with physical impairments and/or documented motor delays. Individual measurable objectives were developed using the GAS for each child. Data were collected on...

BACKGROUND Although not widely recognized as such, asthma is the single most prevalent cause of childhood disability and has contributed to a substantial rise in the overall prevalence of disability among children during the past 25 years. OBJECTIVE To provide a national profile of the prevalence, impact, and trends in childhood disability due to asthma. (Disability is a long-term reduction i...

AIM The aim of this study was to examine the desire of the parents who had a chronically disabled child to have other children and to investigate the effect of having a disabled child on the relationship of the parents. MATERIAL AND METHODS The families of 145 chronically disabled children were included in the study. After the sociodemographic information belonging to the child and family wer...

The medical history of a 16-year-old severely handicapped girl and the social history of her family are traced, with particular emphasis on the extent to which the handicap affected each member of the family. The role of the general practitioner is also highlighted.

Although a large body of literature exists supporting the relationship between positive parenting and child outcomes for typically developing children, there are reasons to analyze separately the relevant literature specific to children with developmental disabilities. However, that literature has not been synthesized in any systematic review. This study examined the association between positiv...

H. Daoud, MD, FRCS, Lecturer, McGill University, Montreal; Lake Shore Hospital. Montreal. T. O’Farrell. MD. BSc, CSPQ. Assistant Professor, Department ofOrthopaedic Surgery, McGill University. Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal: Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, 1529 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1A6. R. L. Cruess. MD, FRCS(C). Dean ofthe Faculty ofMedicine, McIntyre Medical ...

Increasing children’s and young people’s participation in decisions, about their own care and about service development, is a policy priority. Although in general participation is increasing, disabled children are less likely to be involved than nondisabled children and it is unclear to what extent children with complex needs or communication impairments are being included in participation acti...

Data on the incomes of families with a severely disabled child were obtained by replicating the Family Expenditure Survey. These data were compared with income data from a control group of families with children, drawn from the FES for the same period. The participation rates, hours, and earnings of the women with a disabled child were all found to be substantially lower than those of women in ...

BACKGROUND Parents of disabled children often seek support from their peers. The shared experience between parents appears to be a crucial mediating factor. Understanding how a sense of shared experience is fostered can help to design and evaluate services that seek to provide peer support. METHODS We carried out a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Parti...