Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy for People with Cerebral Palsy

Book excerpt: This book is a practical resource for physiotherapists and occupational therapists who support people with cerebral palsy, helping them to solve the problems with movement and other impairments that so often accompany cerebral palsy, so that they can be more active and better able to participate in roles such as study, work, recreation and relationships. The first chapters provide the background to the clinical reasoning approach that informs the whole text, as well as an overview of therapeutic interventions. The subsequent chapters present clinical situations that therapists will encounter in the course of their work with individuals with cerebral palsy across the lifespan. Each chapter describes a case in detail, including the reasoning behind assessment and treatment choices, interventions and outcomes. The themes emphasized throughout the book are the use of the clinical reasoning approach of the intervention process model, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a framework to help therapists inform patient and family decision-making, family-centred approaches in developing and implementing therapeutic strategies, and multidisciplinary team work.