Seven cerebral palsied children living in the home and their mothers were involved in this study. The mothers attended eight weekly sessions and were instructed in basic nutrition and feeding skill development. A Food and Nutrition Education Curriculum was developed for this instruction. Each of the eight lessons in the curriculum included discussions of nutrition based on the Basic Four Food Groups and the development of a feeding skill. Certain measurements were made before and after the nutrition education intervention to determine the benefits to the cerebral palsied children. These included a 24-hour dietary recall, food frequency check, height and weight measurements and a feeding evaluation. The mothers' nutrition knowledge was determined before and after the nutrition classes by way of a practical nutrition quiz. Nutrient intakes were compared to the 1974 Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). Intakes above 67% of the RDA were considered adequate. Energy intakes were compared to a suggested requirement based on height in centimeters. Height and weight measurements were plotted on the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Growth Charts (1976). Five subjects, three girls and two boys fell below the 5th percentile on the NCHS Growth Charts. Intakes of five subjects exceeded two-thirds of the RDA for protein, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid both before and after the nutrition education classes for their mothers. Protein and vitamin A intakes exceeded 100% of the RDA in many cases. The feeding evaluation was divided into three categories: gross motor skills, oral skills and eye-hand coordination. All seven subjects made improvements in the post test. The group as a whole made significant improvements (P <. 05) in gross motor skills. Significant improvements (P <. 05) were made by the mothers as a group in the practical nutrition quiz post test. / Graduation date: 1977

This study explores the coping mechanisms of mothers caring for adolescent children with cerebral palsy. This study attempted to address a gap in the literature pertaining to understanding negative and positive ways of coping related to mothers and the specific pr oblems they have to deal with when caring for adolescents with cerebral palsy . The qualitative study foc uses on experiences and feelings directly obtained from mothers and it looked at what coping mechanisms benefit mothers whilst they are caring for their adolescent child with cerebral p alsy, what factors could compromise the mother’s coping style and how adolescence impacts on the mother’s ways of coping. The research revealed that mothers tended to use either emotion - focused ways of coping which was more maladaptive, or problem - focused ways of coping which were more adaptive ways of coping. A number of coping mechanisms were identified which appeared to benefit mothers, some of these include obtaining support from the medical profession as well as obtaining so cial support. The findings illustrated that there were particular ‘poor’ facilitative factors that could compromise the mothers coping style. Facilitative factors either influenced mothers to use more problem - focused ways of coping or more emotion - focused ways of coping. It was found that both these ways of coping were link ed to different defenc e mechan isms. This study found that adolescence placed more stress on the mother since new issues relating to adolescence emerged and had to be managed. The implications of these findings for management and care of mothers in these situations are discussed. It i s hoped that the present findings will contribute to assisting clinicians in being able to focus on the important areas when working in this field. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Introdução:O comprometimento de determinados grupos musculares e alterações sensório motoras são algumas das características apresentadas por crianças com paralisia cerebral, fazendo-se necessária a utilização de andadores e estabilizadores para auxiliar no ortostatismo e na marcha desses pacientes. Atualmente, existem equipamentos que favorecem estes aspectos, porém o custo ainda é bastante alto, tornando-os inacessíveis a uma grande parcela da população. Com o intuito de se apresentar uma alternativa de qualidade e custo reduzido, desenvolveu-se na UTFPR um andador/ estabilizador baseado no protocolo PediaSuit™, confeccionado em PVC. O suporte é dado através de elastômeros fixados a um cinto, permitindo assim uma marcha mais próxima do natural. Objetivo: Avaliar a marcha e a postura de crianças com Paralisia Cerebral a partir do uso de uma Unidade Terapêutica Domiciliar de baixo custo e baixa mecanização. Método: Foram realizados testes visando analisar a resistência mecânica do material utilizado e ensaios com o protótipo construído. O PVC mostrou ser um material com alta resistência nos testes de flexão e impacto. A massa máxima suportada pelo andador no teste realizado foi de aproximadamente 226 kg. Após a avaliação do equipamento, três crianças foram filmadas utilizando o andador em PVC e um andador comum. Aspectos da marcha e da postura foram avaliados por trinta fisioterapeutas através desses vídeos.Resultados: O andador em PVC apresentou melhores resultados em relação a todos os aspectos da marcha avaliados, promovendo uma deambulação mais próxima do normal. Em relação à resistência mecânica, os ensaios mostram que o PVC Ø32mm é um material adequado para a confecção de equipamentos de tecnologia assistiva, por ser capaz de suportar cargas elevadas sem se romper. A utilização desse material também proporcionou uma redução significativa no custo final do equipamento / Introduction: The involvement of certain muscle groups and sensorimotor deficits are some of the characteristics displayed by children with cerebral palsy, making necessary the use of stabilizers and gait trainers to assist posture and gait of those patients. There are assistive technology devices that promote these aspects, but the cost is still quite high, making them inaccessible to most people. In order to present an alternative with lower cost, a PVC stabilizer/ gait trainer based on PediaSuit™ protocol was developed at UTFPR and Vitória Research Center. The support is provided by elastomers fixed to a belt, thereby allowing a more natural gait pattern. Objective: To evaluate the gait and posture of children with cerebral palsy during the use of a low cost/ low mechanization Therapy Unit Homecare. Method: Some tests were carried out to determine the strength of the prototype and the material itself. PVC proved to be a material with high strength in bending and impact tests. The maximum mass supported by the walker in the test conducted was approximately 226 kg. After evaluating the equipment, images of three children using a reguar gait trainer and the PVC home care unit were taken. Aspects of gait and posture were analysed by thirty physiotherapists through these videos. Results: The PVC home care unit showed better results in regarding all aspects of gait evaluated by promoting closer to normal gait. The mechanical strength tests show that PVC Ø32mm is a suitable material for fabrication of assistive technology equipment, to be able to withstand high loads without breaking. The use of this material also provided a significant reduction in the final cost of the product.

Introdução:O comprometimento de determinados grupos musculares e alterações sensório motoras são algumas das características apresentadas por crianças com paralisia cerebral, fazendo-se necessária a utilização de andadores e estabilizadores para auxiliar no ortostatismo e na marcha desses pacientes. Atualmente, existem equipamentos que favorecem estes aspectos, porém o custo ainda é bastante alto, tornando-os inacessíveis a uma grande parcela da população. Com o intuito de se apresentar uma alternativa de qualidade e custo reduzido, desenvolveu-se na UTFPR um andador/ estabilizador baseado no protocolo PediaSuit™, confeccionado em PVC. O suporte é dado através de elastômeros fixados a um cinto, permitindo assim uma marcha mais próxima do natural. Objetivo: Avaliar a marcha e a postura de crianças com Paralisia Cerebral a partir do uso de uma Unidade Terapêutica Domiciliar de baixo custo e baixa mecanização. Método: Foram realizados testes visando analisar a resistência mecânica do material utilizado e ensaios com o protótipo construído. O PVC mostrou ser um material com alta resistência nos testes de flexão e impacto. A massa máxima suportada pelo andador no teste realizado foi de aproximadamente 226 kg. Após a avaliação do equipamento, três crianças foram filmadas utilizando o andador em PVC e um andador comum. Aspectos da marcha e da postura foram avaliados por trinta fisioterapeutas através desses vídeos.Resultados: O andador em PVC apresentou melhores resultados em relação a todos os aspectos da marcha avaliados, promovendo uma deambulação mais próxima do normal. Em relação à resistência mecânica, os ensaios mostram que o PVC Ø32mm é um material adequado para a confecção de equipamentos de tecnologia assistiva, por ser capaz de suportar cargas elevadas sem se romper. A utilização desse material também proporcionou uma redução significativa no custo final do equipamento / Introduction: The involvement of certain muscle groups and sensorimotor deficits are some of the characteristics displayed by children with cerebral palsy, making necessary the use of stabilizers and gait trainers to assist posture and gait of those patients. There are assistive technology devices that promote these aspects, but the cost is still quite high, making them inaccessible to most people. In order to present an alternative with lower cost, a PVC stabilizer/ gait trainer based on PediaSuit™ protocol was developed at UTFPR and Vitória Research Center. The support is provided by elastomers fixed to a belt, thereby allowing a more natural gait pattern. Objective: To evaluate the gait and posture of children with cerebral palsy during the use of a low cost/ low mechanization Therapy Unit Homecare. Method: Some tests were carried out to determine the strength of the prototype and the material itself. PVC proved to be a material with high strength in bending and impact tests. The maximum mass supported by the walker in the test conducted was approximately 226 kg. After evaluating the equipment, images of three children using a reguar gait trainer and the PVC home care unit were taken. Aspects of gait and posture were analysed by thirty physiotherapists through these videos. Results: The PVC home care unit showed better results in regarding all aspects of gait evaluated by promoting closer to normal gait. The mechanical strength tests show that PVC Ø32mm is a suitable material for fabrication of assistive technology equipment, to be able to withstand high loads without breaking. The use of this material also provided a significant reduction in the final cost of the product.