The diagnostic experience of 31 children, assessed as having motor/learning difficulties, attending an occupational therapy department within a children's hospital, was investigated. The study demonstrates the difficulty of specific identification of perceptuomotor problems. Close examination of the children's individual diagnostic pathways revealed a high number of health-care professional contacts and the fact that frequently there were lengthy gaps between parental (and sometimes professional) suspicions and final confirmation. The children's diagnostic experiences prior to starting treatment were varied and involved, and no one single route was predominant. The rationale for occupational-therapy assessment and treatment of this disorder is described, and parental perceptions of its effect are discussed. The findings suggest that an important part of therapeutic intervention may be increasing children's self-confidence and reducing intra and extra family tensions. Fewer behavioural problems were reported once treatment had commenced. It was concluded that an important part of the therapist's role was to provide information and support for parents and to liaise with school teachers, in addition to treating the children themselves.
The work reported here is part of a wider study initiated to explore through parental interviews the psychosocial and physiological development of children with motor/learning difficulties attending an occupational therapy department at a children's hospital. A basic profile of the children (age, sex, social class, type of dysfunction, IQ, education and marital status of parents and family size) is provided. In addition, the children's developmental histories from birth, including data on milestones, are presented and discussed.
The work reported here, which has as its central concern family dynamics and relationships, is part of a wider study of 31 children with motor/learning difficulties. All the children were attending an Occupational Therapy Department and had been assessed as having motor/learning difficulties. Descriptions of family background, structure and composition are provided and findings on conjugal, parent/child, sibling and extended family relationships presented. Characteristic patterns of family interaction are identified and factors affecting family cohesion discussed.
This article is a description of the development of a support group for parents of children with motor-learning difficulties. It outlines the identification of a need; the early planning, administrative considerations and development; the changing nature and format; the production of a booklet; the formation of a working party that organised and fund-raised; and the present situation. This group was formed 3 years ago and has been based in the Occupational Therapy Department of the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital.
Chesson, McKay and Stephenson look at pupils described as ‘clumsy’ but for whom they use the term motor/learning difficulty, In particular, they are concerned with parental views and attitudes. Their investigations suggest that on the whole they are very supportive of school. Worries emerge, however, as pupils progress to secondary education. The authors present us with some apt recommendations and plead for greater co‐operation at a variety of levels.
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