Masters Degrees (Occupational Therapy)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (Occupational Therapy) by Subject "Apraxia -- Treatment"
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Item Open Access Parents, educators and children: perceptions on dyspraxia(University of the Free State, 2013-02) Van Staden, Carli; Van Jaarsveld, A.English: Dyspraxia is a developmental condition in which the ability to ideate, plan and execute new and novel actions is impaired (Bundy, Lane & Murray, 2002:477- 478). The aim of this study was to investigate the child’s, parent’s and educator’s perceptions on dyspraxia, in order to identify comprehensive client-centred treatment goals. This study was carried out in order to further the understanding of the complexities surrounding a child with dyspraxia, as it pertain to the occupational performance areas of school, play and leisure, and self-care. A lack of literature on the use of a family-centred approach in assessment and treatment of children by South African occupational therapists and the growing emphasis on including the voice of the child in decision-making that affects them, gave relevance to this undertaking. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was done. The study population consisted of children aged 5 years 4 months to 8 years 2 months, living in Bloemfontein and surrounding areas, and diagnosed with dyspraxia as per the criteria of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT) (Ayres, 1989). The study sample further consisted of the parent(s) of the child who were involved in the occupational therapy process, as well as the educator of the child concerned. The PEGS (Missiuna, Pollock & Law, 2004) was used as the measuring instrument to obtain the perceptions regarding dyspraxia from the child, parent and educator. The PEGS’s assessment for children consists of 24 pairs of cards showing children participating in activities from the occupational performance areas of self-care, school/productivity and leisure/play. The child had to indicate if he is like the picture of the child who is “more competent” or “less competent” in the activity. During separate interviews with the parents and educators, the researcher asked the parent(s) and educators to rate the child’s competency on the same activities as those of the child’s cards of the PEGS. The child, parent and educator respectively also chose activities as goals to be addressed during occupational therapy intervention. Demographic information was also obtained from the parent(s) during a structured interview. The data analysis was done by Department Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, UFS. Findings indicated that dyspraxia reached across all functional spheres. Play and leisure was perceived by all to be the occupational performance area children with dyspraxia were the least competent in, with skipping with a rope perceived by all as the most troublesome activity. The perceptions of the parent, child and educator regarding the child’s competence in specific activities differed. Children were able to express their perceived efficacy and made themselves out to be both less and more competent in some items the adults did not agree with. A statistical significant difference was found between the child and educator’s summary score percentages of their perceptions of the child’s competence as it relates to the OPA of school/productivity. Parents, children and educators selected different combinations of items as goals, with almost half of the total number of goals selected by all participants related to the OPA of leisure. Printing, playing ball games that require hitting a ball, such as tennis and cricket, skipping with a rope and cutting with scissors were the specific goals selected by the greatest number of participants. In conclusion, recommendations towards child-centred practice were made. These included realising the extent of the influence of dyspraxia on all areas of the child’s functioning, considering all environments and all role-players in the child’s life when planning intervention and providing the child with an opportunity to express his perceptions of his abilities and goals for therapy. The limitations of the study were acknowledged and recommendations were made for future research.