Abstract
In order to provide targeted support to families who are raising children with developmental disorders, it is important to study the family needs and to understand circumstances that may affect them. The aim of this study was to identify the needs of the families with preschool children with cerebral palsy, and study how these needs relate to factors associated with families, children and rehabilitation services. Descriptive analysis showed that families living in Latvia most often need information, social and financial support and coordination of services, and they also need financial support to cover the costs of child care and treatment. The results of the data analysis support the hypothesis that factors characterising families, children with cerebral palsy and rehabilitation services affect the needs of the families with preschool children with cerebral palsy living in Latvia, and the unique impact of these factors depends on the type of needs. Regression analysis revealed that the most important factors affecting the needs of families were related with the socio-economic situation, as well as the support of peers and professionals. The availability and regularity of rehabilitation services, limitations to the child’s functions and health impairments were factors that affected family needs to a lesser extent.
Highlights
Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of permanent disorders in the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, which are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain
The needs of families raising preschool children with cerebral palsy living in Latvia are affected by the factors characterising families, children with cerebral palsy and rehabilitation service providers, and the unique impact of these factors depends on the type of family needs
There is a similar trend in other studies, where the needs of families with children with functional disabilities are explored [17,18,19,20,21,22]. This might mean that the majority of families who are raising children with developmental disorders feel that they lack information, and service providers should think how to improve the provision of information to these families
Summary
Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of permanent disorders in the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, which are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability among children, having a potentially negative impact on the quality of life and involvement in the community for the child, and for the whole family [2]. Health care providers should be aware that, in order to promote successful child development, such kinds of service are needed that simultaneously target the improvement of the functions of the child and their family. There have been findings that show that, in this way, the best results can be achieved in improving the child’s functioning and meeting the family’s specific needs, as well as increasing the quality of life [5,6,7,8]
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