The upper limbs of children with cerebral palsy or degenerative diseases may show problems with muscle tone (spasticity, fluctuating tone or hypotonia) involuntary movements, disease patterns ... etc.) That limits the function, therefore the achievement, of quotidian occupations.

Care and support include:

-Assessment of motor skills with appropriate tests (motor, functional, prehension)

- Rehabilitation objectives:

  Inhibiting spasticity and disease patterns

  Creating awareness of upper limbs and their functions

  Stimulating gross motor skills

  Developing fine motor skills

-Manufacturing hand splints: Two types of hand splints are available for children:

  Posture splint that are used to place hands in proper position to allow them to gain articular amplitude and prevent their deformation

  Functional splint that facilitate handgrip allowing access to daily activities.

Occupational therapists take part in selecting raw materials, designing splints, taking measurement, as well as manufacturing and controlling splints.

Children with motor disability might often suffer from cognitive disorders. These disorders might show in gestures of clumsiness or difficulties finalizing movements, which affects their quotidian activities.

Care and support include:

-Developing functions (gnosis, praxis, memory, attention and spatial-temporal reasoning...)

-Improving executive functions through proper exercises that simulate quotidian activities (making goals, planning, doing things well and running budgets...)

- School follow-up in terms of educational guidance and providing palliative adaptations in class...

At Sesobel, a considerable number of children suffer from visual perception disorders that might limit academic learning and quotidian activities and communication.

The disorders are «silent» because children might be unaware of them. They might seriously affect children’s cognitive, emotional, practical and social conduct. That’s why occupational therapy follows a very specific management protocol to treat these disorders.

Assessment includes:

- Parents guidance to collect information on children’s environment

- Generally conducting ophthalmology and optometry tests at ophthalmology centres to detect visual disturbances

-Assessment of children’s visual perception

Rehabilitation objectives:

-Improving visual acuity and field, in addition to oculomotor and diverse coordination

- Devising compensatory strategies or remedial aids (providing visual adaptations, expanding spacing and using markers ...)

-Reinforcing visual memory, visual attention, activity organization and autonomy

-Improving functional performance in settings that simulate children’s quotidian activities in order to encourage autonomy and functional independence

Parental guidance

The visual-perception programme can’t be achieved without parents, whose care contributes to efficiency. 

Children and youth with motor disabilities may suffer from limited functional capacity and visual perception difficulties that obstruct their access to written discourse. This category of children can’t handle standard hardware (mouse and keyboard) and has difficulty accessing standard software.

SESOBEL implements informatics specific tools to best face these difficulties. These tools are implemented through communication, learning, rehabilitation, work and leisure-time activities.

The implementation of informatics requires:

- Collaboration with the Technical-Aid unit in order to create devices that help patients with motor and visual perception difficulties

- Training children to use present devices

- Supporting educators in charge of those children

Children with Cerebral Palsy or degenerative diseases may suffer from motor problems in the upper limbs, and that limits function and quotidian activities. The difficulties encountered include dressing oneself up, using toilet, moving, eating and bathing...

SESOBEL’s care and support include:

- Conducting assessment in accordance with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM)

- Proposing adaptation devices necessary for achieving desired activities such as adapted spoons and plates, slip-resistant devices, pencil aid, toilet seats, and drinking glass…

- Rehabilitating by creating quotidian-activity simulations (putting clothes on, serving food and running budgets...)

- Home visiting to discover children’s surroundings, particularly external and internal accessibility and suggesting the use of necessary equipment that the Technical-Aid unit provides.