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Grannyshealinghand
Familymembersarethebestbetwhenitcomestorehabilitatingachildaffectedwithcerebralpalsy,
saysSanjitBagchiDrGitaMathai

Grandmotherscanbehelpfulinprovidingchildrenwith
cerebralpalsyanimprovedqualityoflife,accordingtoa
studyonsuchafflictedchildreninCalcutta.Ateamof
researchersfromtheIndianInstituteofCerebralPalsy,
Calcutta,andtheWalesCollegeofMedicine,theUK,
suggeststhatchildrenwithcerebralpalsyneedtohave
thistherapyforlonghoursdaily.Though
physiotherapistsdoprovidetrainedtreatment,itsonly
foracertaintime.Itsthereforelefttotheparentsand
familymembers,likegrandmothers,tocontinuewiththe
treatmentandrehabilitation.

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Inmostcases,however,bothparentsremainbusywith
theirjobsandhardlyfindthetimetohelptheirchildren
affectedbycerebralpalsy.Grandmothers,whoare
presentinthehousethroughouttheday,canhelpinthis
regard,theresearcherswriteinthemedicaljournal
Physiotherapy.Grandmotherscanalsoescortchildrento
andfromschools,andthusbuildabondwiththem.This
bondhelpstheafflictedchildrentoleadagoodlife,they
add.

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Afflictedchildrenneedlonghours
oftherapy

Cerebralpalsyoccurswhenpartofthebrainisdamaged
orhasnotdevelopedproperly,accordingtoastatement
bytheIndianInstituteofCerebralPalsy.Thismay
happenbeforebirth,atthetimeofbirthorinearly
childhood.Insomepeople,cerebralpalsyisbarely
noticeable.Otherswillbemoreseverelyaffected,the
statementadds.

DrSumanaDattaKanjilal,formerassociateprofessorof
paediatricmedicineatCalcuttaNationalMedicalCollegeHospital,explainsthatcerebral
palsyaffectsmotorskills,whichdelaysactivitieslikesmiling,sitting,crawlingand
walking.Afflictedchildrenalsohavespeechandhearingproblems.Sheadds,Mostof
thetime,cerebralpalsymanifestsitselfbeforethechildisoneyearold.Inseverecases,
thediseasecanbediagnosedevenbeforethechildisthreemonthsold.Somechildren
maybecomeimpassiveorevenmentallyretarded.Some,however,goontobecome
highlyintelligent.
Functionalproblems
Fortheresearch,DrTessaHamblinfromtheIndianInstituteofCerebralPalsy,DrIris
MusafromtheWalesCollegeofMedicineandtheircolleaguesstudiedthefamiliesof20
affectedchildrenlivinginCalcuttasslums.Themostcommonproblemfeltbythe
familieswasthatthechildwasunabletowalk.Inaddition,theyoftenmentioneda
functionalproblemwithfeedingandactivitiesrelatedtothetoilet,theresearcherswrite
inthejournal.
Researchers,however,warnthatcerebralpalsyhasnocure,andpropermotivationand
therapyaretheonlywaystomanagethedisease.SaysDrAgnimitaGiriSarkar,a
paediatricianatLifeLineHospital,Everychildwithcerebralpalsyneedsphysiotherapy.
Thishelpstheaffectedsideofthebodytofunctionoptimallyandalsobooststhe
functionsofthenonaffectedside.Thechildrenmayalsoneedspeechtherapyand
shouldbetaughtaboutdoingregularactivitieslikegoingtothetoilet,brushing,dressing,
selffeedingandsoon.Propereducationisalsorequiredtohelpthemleadagood
sociallife.Playingathomecanbeanimportantwaytotreatthesechildrenbecausethis
canimproveboththeirphysicalandmentalabilities,DrSarkaradds.
DrDebasisBasu,associateprofessorofNeurologyatNRSMedicalCollegeand
Hospital,agreesthatfamilymemberscanhelp.Treatmentofcerebralpalsyisbasically
symptomatic.Rehabilitationtherapyisthemainstayoftreatmentanditsdoneintheform
ofphysiotherapy,speechtherapyandothervocationaltherapies.Homebasedcareis
animportantmeansofrehabilitation,DrBasusays.
Trainingneeded

Inaddition,theauthorsofthestudysaythatthetreatmentneedstotakeplaceoverlong
periodsandshouldbethedominantactivityeachdayinorderfortheintervention
programmestobeeffective.DrHamblinsays,Grandmotherscanbeinvolvedinthe
routineactivitiesofthechild,suchasfeeding,movement,educationandsoon.Theycan
beinvolvedinplayingwiththechildandcanhelphimorherreceivepropertherapy.
Sheadds,Thisprojecthasshownthatitspossibletousetheresilienceand
resourcefulnessofthefamilytohelpthechildtobecomepartofhisorhercommunity,
attendschoolandsobecomeequippedforthefuture.
However,grandmothersandotherfamilymembersshouldproperlylearnthenecessary
techniquesfromtrainedtherapistsbeforetheyusethemincerebralpalsyaffected
children.
Anytherapy,providedbypersonswhorenotproperlytrainedcanbedangerous.So
beforeimplementingfamilybasedrehabilitationincerebralpalsychildren,proper
trainingtofamilymembersshouldbeprovided,DrKanjilalcautions.

Copyright2006TheTelegraph.Allrightsreserved.

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