Book Reviews

Abstract

Paediatric therapy practice must continually evolve as new evidence becomes available to guide clinicians working with children with disabilities. For many paediatric therapists, returning to the basics of motor control can prove most helpful in guiding clinical practice. Movement Sciences: Transfer of Knowledge into Pediatric Therapy Practice focuses on the translation of academic research pertaining to movement sciences into information that can be applied in paediatric therapy clinical practice. Written primarily by physical therapists who are both researchers and clinicians, the six chapters in this volume range from comprehensive literature reviews to original research studies. The chapters highlight theoretical models, measurement tools, and interventions relevant to paediatric occupational therapy and physical therapy practice. The authors have done a remarkable job of integrating their research findings into a clinically relevant format, with each chapter presenting conclusions regarding implications for clinical practice. The volume is structured in such a way that even though the content is drawn from separate research papers, the reader can also see the bigger picture. Some of the chapters are quite lengthy, and this may initially dissuade some busy clinicians. However, the practical focus of the chapters makes the book quite reader friendly and relevant to clinicians. For example, one of the chapters on service delivery, which is more theoretical in nature, includes a clinical case study to illustrate its concepts. Offering this content in both book and journal format also makes the materials more accessible to clinicians. (The content may look familiar to some readers, as it was co-published simultaneously as volume 24, numbers 1 and 2, of the journal Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics in 2004.) Movement Sciences contains chapters pertaining to areas such as postural control, predictors of standing balance, reliability of a measurement of muscle extensibility, activity-based intervention, enhancing prehension skills, and understanding changes in mobility in children with CP over time. For this reason, the book may offer relevant information to clinicians in many different areas of paediatric therapy. Readers may choose to read the book from cover to cover, to read one chapter related to their current practice, or to make use of the clinical implications included at the end of each chapter to get a quick summary or review of the authors’ salient points. Movement Sciences: Transfer of Knowledge into Pediatric Therapy Practice contains information relevant to most paediatric therapists, and it is hoped that review of the contents will encourage clinicians to reflect on their current practice and promote discussion as to which assessment tools and intervention strategies should be integrated into clinical practice. This book will also provide clinicians with examples of how their practice can contribute to further research in paediatric therapy.