<p>The purpose of the study was to explore the need for physiotherapy support for teachers in selected inclusive schools in Zambia. The study aimed to determine teachers skills and teachers attitudes as they included learners with physical disabilities in their classrooms.</p>

<p>The purpose of the study was to explore the need for physiotherapy support for teachers in selected inclusive schools in Zambia. The study aimed to determine teachers skills and teachers attitudes as they included learners with physical disabilities in their classrooms.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2000. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 324-344). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p9963451.

The extent to which customers are satified with the care they receive from the health professionals has been an important area of interest for researchers, managers and health care workers. The physiotherapy cerebral palsy clinic at Mulago Hospital in Kampala Uganda provides physiotherapy services for parents/caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. The parents/caregivers visit the clinic seeking physiotherapy services that will address their problems and those of the child. The purpose of this study was to explore the satisfaction that the parents/caregivers of children with cerebral palsy get from utilising the physiotherapy services at the clinic and to identify the barriers/problems that they encounter that might affect their attendance.

Children with disabilities are not the sole clients of the pediatric physical therapy practitioner. However, research, best practice, and federal mandated legislation oblige therapists to transition from a traditional medical child-centered model of intervention to a family-centered model. This model places an emphasis on instructing parents, guiding their development as the dominant change agent for their children. Viewing parents as the predominant learner during intervention sessions is hampered by the paucity of family-related and adult-learning content in the professional preparation programs in higher education. It is further inhibited by professional attitudinal beliefs that continue to place a higher value on child characteristics for clinical decision making. This qualitative study explored the scope of four private practice pediatric physical therapists' role as a parent coach. Each therapist was videotaped with two young children diagnosed with movement dysfunction and their mothers. Using a coaching framework presented by Hanft, Rush, and Shelden (2004), therapist/parent interactions were analyzed within the phases of initiation, observation/action, reflection, and evaluation. In addition, interpretation of these observations was also viewed through the theoretical lenses of adult learning and motor learning. The findings indicated that parent coaching was minimally employed by these four therapists. The lack of family-centered focus, minimal adult learning theory knowledge/application and nominal motor learning application to parental handling skill development further establishes a diminished attention to the potential for building parent competence. The research-to-practice gap confirmed a need in professional preparation and continuing education. Recommendations are made for a holistic model that includes application of both adult and motor learning in conjunction with a coaching model.

The extent to which customers are satified with the care they receive from the health professionals has been an important area of interest for researchers, managers and health care workers. The physiotherapy cerebral palsy clinic at Mulago Hospital in Kampala Uganda provides physiotherapy services for parents/caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. The parents/caregivers visit the clinic seeking physiotherapy services that will address their problems and those of the child. The purpose of this study was to explore the satisfaction that the parents/caregivers of children with cerebral palsy get from utilising the physiotherapy services at the clinic and to identify the barriers/problems that they encounter that might affect their attendance.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis investigated the education support services provided by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Changes in the education policy in South Africa to an inclusive education system have major implications for the way therapists provide support. Therapists have been challenged to move from a medical model of support with a focus on highly specialised treatment for a small number of individual learners with disabilities, to a system, including all learners, teachers and parents. The aim of this research was to develop an appropriate and integrated approach for therapists to support schools within an inclusive and health promoting schools framework in South Africa. / South Africa

Although other forms of learning support such as remedial education and occupational therapy are available to assist a child with a learning barrier or developmental delay, this study set out to explore therapeutic horse riding as an alternative learning support strategy. The motivation was to support and develop the core skills of Amy, a preschool child who is physically disabled. The researcher’s premise was that owing to the limitations in Amy’s movement ability, certain developmental areas required for school readiness would be impacted. The aim of this case study was to describe the development of core skills such as perceptual-motor, socio-emotional and language and how these underlying abilities could develop through the movement modality of the horse. A therapeutic horse riding program was implemented over a period of time with the specific goal to stimulate certain core skills by encompassing mind and body. The horse, with its distinctive three-dimensional movement, facilitated this unique form of learning. Although European countries have made great progress in this area, South Africa is steadily following suit. Therefore, the researcher hoped to contribute to the body of existing knowledge within this field. Data were collected from different sources to substantiate the findings. Findings have revealed an improvement in many areas of Amy’s core skills, in particular her balance and posture, and the crossing of her midline. Further findings were that Amy’s concentration and listening skills improved and she became more even-tempered, confident and innovative during therapeutic horse riding (THR). The researcher recommends therapeutic horse riding as a supplementary learning support strategy within a school for special educational needs although it can also be implemented in the mainstream context. In this regard, the therapeutic horse riding therapist becomes a valued member of the support team in a collaborative endeavour to contribute to the holistic development of a child like Amy or any child with learning, emotional or behavioural needs. Although THR is considered a new field of therapy results have shown that it provides great benefits to those who experience it. / Mrs. J.V. Fourie

This thesis investigated the education support services provided by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Changes in the education policy in South Africa to an inclusive education system have major implications for the way therapists provide support. Therapists have been challenged to move from a medical model of support with a focus on highly specialised treatment for a small number of individual learners with disabilities, to a system, including all learners, teachers and parents. The aim of this research was to develop an appropriate and integrated approach for therapists to support schools within an inclusive and health promoting schools framework in South Africa.

This thesis investigated the education support services provided by occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Changes in the education policy in South Africa to an inclusive education system have major implications for the way therapists provide support. Therapists have been challenged to move from a medical model of support with a focus on highly specialised treatment for a small number of individual learners with disabilities, to a system, including all learners, teachers and parents. The aim of this research was to develop an appropriate and integrated approach for therapists to support schools within an inclusive and health promoting schools framework in South Africa.