Cerebral Palsy and associated therapy's.

Before I chose my activity for this assignment, I decided to choose a Specific need first, then find out about it and lastly choose from that an activity that would be appropriate.

Cerebral Palsy is a medical condition that affects control of the muscles. Cerebral means anything in the head and palsy refers to anything wrong with control of the muscles or joints in the body.

If someone has cerebral palsy it means that because of an injury to their brain (that's the cerebral part) they are not able to use some of the muscles in their body in the normal way (that's the palsy part).

Children who have cerebral palsy may not be able to walk, talk, eat or play in the same ways as most other children the same age.

‘It is important to know that CP is not a disease or illness. It isn't contagious and it doesn't get worse, but it is not something you "grow out of." ‘ .

Children who have CP will have it all their lives. Cerebral palsy is caused by an injury to the brain before, during, or shortly after birth. In many cases, no one knows for sure what caused the brain injury or what may have been done to prevent the injury.

Children with CP have damage to the area of their brain that controls muscle tone. Depending on where their brain injury is and how big it is, their muscle tone may be too tight, too loose, or a combination of too tight and loose. Muscle tone is what lets us keep our bodies in a certain position, like sitting with our heads up to look at the teacher in class. Changes in muscle tone let us move.

‘About one-fourth to one-half of children with CP also have some type of learning problem.’

Children with CP often go to different kinds of therapy to help them improve their motor skills for things like walking, talking and using their hands - fine manipulative. Some children get therapy at school and some children go to a special clinic to see their therapists.

Some examples of therapists who help children with CP include:

Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists usually work with children on better ways to use their arms, hands, and upper body. They may teach children better or easier ...

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‘About one-fourth to one-half of children with CP also have some type of learning problem.’

Some examples of therapists who help children with CP include:

Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists usually work with children on better ways to use their arms, hands, and upper body. They may teach children better or easier ways to write, draw, cut with scissors, brush their teeth, dress and feed themselves, or control their wheelchair. Occupational therapists also help children find the right special equipment to make some everyday jobs a little easier.

Physical Therapy
Physical therapists help children learn better ways to move and balance. They may help children with CP learn to walk, use their wheelchair, stand by themselves, or go up and down stairs safely. Children may also work on fun skills in physical therapy like running and kicking a ball.

Recreational Therapy

This type of therapist help children with Cp to have fun, they help them with hobbies they are interested in.

From this I have decided to choose an activity that all the above therapists could use with a child with CP.

I need to choose something that will turn learning activities into play.
Children learn best and co- operate more when they enjoy and are excited by what they are doing. My chosen activity should be played with for as long as it is fun for the child. As soon as it stops being fun my activity should be stopped or changed. Children with CP have difficulty grasping and also find hand-eye co-ordination difficult they also have high or low sensitivity to touch. From this I feel that play dough would be a great activity to do with the child, I would make the play dough (see play dough sheet in assignment) and the child could help so that he or she would feel involved and then do activities with the play dough to encourage hand-eye co-ordination and grasping, the feel of the play dough would be an experience for the child.

He/she could make different shapes and roll the dough. After this has been mastered he/she could use cutters and maybe plastic plates and knifes and forks for role-play at teatime, other children could also be involved to encourage social interaction.

How do play activities contribute to the specific needs of children?

Play is important to every child but is especially important to those with special needs.

According to the English Oxford Dictionary play is

‘Occupying oneself in a game or other recreational activities’.

Play is the spice of life, a child learns about their body and world. Learning through play is not just about having fun, play is learning for life and is necessary for development.

Play also helps towards happiness as they produce feelings of satisfaction and achievement this is especially important for those with a specific need, play also prevents boredom and it can also divert aggressiveness.

Children with specific needs need to feel inclusion.

To support these carers should know what the child likes and dislikes, interests, abilities and needs. They need to know how to motivate and encourage. The environment should be safe accessible and challenging, it should be uncluttered. The child with the need should be at the same eye level as peers to promote social interaction and play experiences should be for a tactile stimulation, which encourage children to play alongside each other, e.g. play dough!

Equipment used should also be adaptable and helpful and should be relevant to the stage at which the child with the special need is up to. An outdoor play environment should also be available for a child with a special need.

Many children with a specific need learn through imitation, adults should be aware of this.

‘The social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous mutual interaction between cognitive, behavioural and environmental influences and emphasises that children learn social behaviour by watching other people and imitating them especially people in their lives who they believe to hold status, especially if those are warming and powerful’ accessed 12.07.2002 8.07pm.

Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget talked about children in the early years "constructing" their own meaning. He believed that children learn most efficiently when they are able to take new knowledge and integrate it into their previous knowledge and experiences, constructing a new knowledge base each day. Because children are constantly rethinking and updating their construction of how the world works, Piaget recommended learning experiences that:

‘emphasize autonomy and self-direction as a sound preparation for later intellectual development’ www.piaget.com

Maria Montessori, an Italian physician who developed the Montessori school concept, also talked about the importance of sensorimotor experiences. She designed learning materials and manipulatives that use concrete and real materials to capitalize on the child's learning style.

Children are active learners who learn best from activities they plan and carry out themselves. They are little scientists and builders, acrobats and artisans who need active experience with the world of people and things, who need opportunities to set goals, plan, reflect, and take responsibility. From birth, they are communicators who need a world filled with books, language experiences, and great conversation.

In other words play should be constructed and organised so that children can get the best out of it, everyone should be given equal opportunities to learn and gain experience especially those with a specific needs they need to learn to the best of their ability through play to gain an understanding of intellectual concepts.