ERIC Number: EJ851383
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Feb
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1622
EISSN: N/A
Assistive Devices for Children with Functional Impairments: Impact on Child and Caregiver Function
Henderson, Stacey; Skelton, Heather; Rosenbaum, Peter
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, v50 n2 p89-98 Feb 2008
Functional impairments can limit a child's ability to participate in the experiences of childhood. This "deprivation" can, in turn, have a negative effect on such children's development, academic performance, and quality of life, as well as on the lives of their caregivers and families. Many adults use assistive devices to overcome functional impairments and enable them to participate in daily activities; however, such devices may be underutilized by children. Each of the 54 studies reviewed in this report identified one or more functional impairments towards which an assistive device was targeted: accessing a computer (n=3 [studies]), activity assistance (n=2), behaviour changes (n=3), communication (n=30), independent feeding (n=1), living skills (n=1), mobility (n=9), modifying the environment (n=1), nutrition (n=4), and postural stability (n=2). The aim of this review was to determine the impact of assistive devices on the components of functioning defined by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The impact of these devices was found to be overwhelmingly positive. Study outcomes reported were mainly child-focused and could be classified as influencing activity, participation, and personal contextual factors, with relatively little attention paid to caregiver-focused outcomes. Few studies provided either qualitative evidence or experimentally-based quantitative research evidence using controls.
Descriptors: Quality of Life, Caregivers, Statistical Analysis, Assistive Technology, Child Development, Academic Achievement, Access to Computers, Behavior Change, Physical Mobility, Disabilities, Daily Living Skills, Nutrition, Classification, International Organizations
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A