The Impact of Adaptive Seating Devices on the Lives of Young Children With Cerebral Palsy and Their Families
Presented to the International Seating Symposium, March 9, 2007, Orlando, FL.
Abstract
Ryan SE, Campbell KA, Rigby PJ, Fishbein-Germon B, Hubley D, Chan B. The impact of adaptive seating devices on the lives of young children with cerebral palsy and their families.
Objective
To determine the parent-perceived effect of adaptive seating devices on the lives of young children with cerebral palsy (CP) (aged 2–7y) and their families.
Design
Baseline-intervention-baseline study.
Setting
Homes of participating families.
Participants
Thirty parents and their children with Gross Motor Function Classification System level III or IV CP.
Interventions
Two special-purpose seating devices: 1 for sitting support on the floor or on a chair and the other for postural control on a toilet.
Main Outcome Measures
Family Impact of Assistive Technology Scale (FIATS) and Impact on Family Scale (IFS).
Results
Thirty parents (29 mothers, 1 father) and their children with CP participated. Repeated-measures analysis of variance detected significant mean differences among the FIATS scores (F1.4,40.6=19.25, P<.001). Post hoc testing confirmed significant mean differences in overall FIATS scores between baseline and intervention and intervention and postintervention phases. The test of within-subject effects did not detect a significant change among IFS mean scores.
Conclusions
The introduction of adaptive seating devices for young children who need support to sit had a meaningful, positive impact on child and family life. Removal of the study devices showed a concomitant negative impact on key aspects of child and family life. Environmental resources, such as seating and other assistive technology devices, may have an important role to play in the lives of young children with physical disabilities and their families.
aBloorview Research Institute, Bloorview Kids Rehab, Toronto, ON, Canada
bDepartments of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
cPublic Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
dGraduate Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Correspondence to Stephen E. Ryan, MSc, PEng, Bloorview Research Institute, Bloorview Kids Rehab, 150 Kilgour Rd, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4G 1R8
Supported by SickKids Foundation/Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health – Canadian Institutes of Health Research (grant no. XG 04-088).
We certify that we have affiliations with an organization with a financial interest in the subject materials discussed in the manuscript. The seating devices described in this study were developed at Bloorview Kids Rehab in Toronto, ON, Canada. Bloorview receives royalties from the sale of these devices from Otto Bock HealthCare Canada Limited.
ABSTRACT