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Purpose: 

This study examined speech and language pathologists’ (SLPs’) perceptions and practices of communication partner training with high-tech speech generating devices (SGDs).

Method: 

Fifteen SLPs were recruited throughout Sweden. The SLPs answered a study-specific questionnaire on communication partner training in relation to communication partners to children with severe cerebral palsy and intellectual disability. The results were analysed with descriptive statistics (closed-ended questions, responses on Likert scales) and content analysis (open-ended question) using ICF-CY.

Results:

Twelve SLPs completed the survey. Half had no or one training session with communication partners in the last year. One-third never used documents for goal-setting. Half seldom or never taught communication partner strategies. Three quarters only used verbal instructions. The main obstacles were environmental factors.

Conclusions: 

This study contributes valuable knowledge about high-tech SGD interventions targeting communication partners. The high-tech SGD intervention may benefit from goal-setting, extended number of training sessions and a range of instructional approaches.

Purpose: There are social and environmental barriers faced by persons with disabilities which have been reported in literature. In discussing these barriers, attention is yet to be given to the support from families to members with disabilities. This study aimed to examine family support and its impact on the lives of persons with disabilities in Ghana.

Methods: The study participants were 48 persons with disabilities - physical, hearing and visual disabilities - who were members of Disabled Peoples’ Organisations. They were conveniently drawn from 4 districts in the Northern region of Ghana.

Results: The study found that the families of the participants did not give them adequate support to access services that would improve their lives. For instance, limited access to education resulted in inability of participants to secure  jobs.

Conclusion: Without the primary support of the family, persons with disabilities might be unable to break down social barriers due to their inability to access education and other developmentally useful services. The implication of the study for policy-making has been discussed extensively.

A case study is provided concerning the development of national guidelines for assistive technology provision in Papua New Guinea.  Requirements, outcomes, challenges and learning are outlined 

This journal provides

• Nineteen original research articles on a variety of topics including the cost of raising a child with autism, experiences of care givers to stroke survivors, dyslexic's learning experiences, communication rehabilitation, disability and food security, hearing children of deaf parents and rehabilitation of stroke survivors, disability policy, learning for deaf learners, aquatic based interventions for children with cerebral palsy, evaluation of community based rehabilitation programmes, the impact of stroke and barriers to the implementation of inclusive education.
• Seven review articles: Intellectual disability rights and inclusive citizenship in South Africa: What can a scoping review tell us?; The benefits of hydrotherapy to patients with spinal cord injuries; Simple ideas that work: Celebrating development in persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities; The relationship between social support and participation in stroke: A systematic review; Parents of children with disabilities: A systematic review of parenting interventions and self-efficacy; Implementation of the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Zimbabwe: A review; Part 1: A review of using photovoice as a disability research method: Implications for eliciting the experiences of persons with disabilities on the Community Based Rehabilitation programme in Namibia
• There is an opinion paper entitled - Deafening silence on a vital issue: The World Health Organization has ignored the sexuality of persons with disabilities
•  There is a case study - Lessons from the pilot of a mobile application to map assistive technology suppliers in Africa

This open access book introduces the human development model to define disability and map its links with health and wellbeing, based on Sen’s capability approach. The author uses panel survey data with internationally comparable questions on disability for Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. It presents evidence on the prevalence of disability and its strong and consistent association with multidimensional poverty, mortality, economic insecurity and deprivations in education, morbidity and employment. It shows that disability needs to be considered from multiple angles including aging, gender, health and poverty. Ultimately, this study makes a call for inclusion and prevention interventions as solutions to the deprivations associated with impairments and health conditions.

Chapters include:

• The Human Development Model of Disability, Health and Wellbeing
• Measurement, Data and Country Context
• Prevalence of Functional Difficulties
• Functional Difficulties and Inequalities Through a Static Lens
• Dynamics of Functional Difficulties and Wellbeing
• Main Results and Implications

This review considers education and training available to personnel who provide wheelchair and seating assistive technology to meet personal posture and mobility requirements within low and lower middle income countries (LLMIC), to ascertain where gaps in knowledge exist and identify human resource education priorities. A scoping review, mapping out existing scientific and grey literature within the field between 1993 and 2017 was conducted.

https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2017.1392621

Journal of Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, Volume 14, 2019 - Issue 1

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological well-being of adolescents with physical disabilities living in inclusive community settings of Makonde Urban in Zimbabwe. An inclusive community is one that aims to remove exclusionary practices within the community and promote community systems that accept all people irrespective of their difference. Inclusive communities on their own are not uniquely designed for people with disabilities, but most developing countries have adopted them as a basic strategy to influence and enhance psychological well-being of people with disabilities.

Methods: A constructivist lived experience perspective underpinned this research, in which multiple case studies were used to interact with the participants on inclusion and psychological well-being of adolescents with physical disabilities. Purposive sampling was used to select 14 participants (9 males and 5 females). Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and transcribed verbatim. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis of data sources.

Results: It was found that participants who were adolescents with physical disabilities living in inclusive community settings of Makonde Urban in Zimbabwe were having high levels of autonomy and choice, purpose in life, positive relations with others and good personal growth and self-acceptance.

Conclusion: The findings of this study should enable inclusive communities’ policy-makers and researchers to better understand the psychological well-being of adolescents with physical disabilities living in inclusive communities.

Background: Lack of access to mobility for people with disabilities, particularly in less- resourced settings, continues to be widespread. Despite challenges to wheelchair delivery, the benefits to health, employment, social integration and life satisfaction are apparent.

Objectives: Previous studies have explored the impact of receiving a wheelchair on the lives of the users through cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal analysis. The current study was undertaken to evaluate whether previously reported changes were sustained after 30 months of use, and whether results varied between two differing models of a wheelchair.

Method: One hundred and ninety-one subjects from Peru, Uganda and Vietnam received one of two models of wheelchair provided by the Free Wheelchair Mission. Using interviews to record survey results, data were collected at the time the wheelchair was received and following 12 and 30 months of use. Variables of overall health, employment, income and travel were explored through non-parametric analysis.

Results: There was a significant improvement in overall health and distance travelled after 12 months, but these changes were no longer significant by 30 months (Friedman test for overall change, p = 0.000). Employment status showed a small but significant increase at 12 and 30 months (Cochran’s Q, p = 0.000). Reported income increased slowly, becoming significantly different at 30 months (Friedman test, p = 0.033). There was no association between the model of wheelchair received and the incidence of pressure ulcers, pain or maintenance required. There was higher satisfaction with the GEN_2 wheelchair at 12 months (p = 0.004), but this difference was not apparent by 30 months. Overall wheelchair satisfaction and maintenance levels were favourable.

Conclusion: While overall health status, and distance travelled into the community fluctuated over time, receipt of one of two models of a wheelchair in less-resourced settings of the world appears to have a positive sustained impact on employment and income. Further investigations should be carried out to confirm these results and explore the factors responsible for fluctuating variables. This study affirms the importance of long-term follow-up of outcomes associated with wheelchair distribution in less-resourced environments.

Background: Very little is known on outcome measures for children with spina bifida (SB) in Zambia. If rehabilitation professionals managing children with SB in Zambia and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa are to instigate measuring outcomes routinely, a tool has to be made available. The main objective of this study was to develop an appropriate and culturally sensitive instrument for evaluating the impact of the interventions on children with SB in Zambia.

Methods: A mixed design method was used for the study. Domains were identified retrospectively and confirmation was done through a systematic review study. Items were generated through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Qualitative data were downloaded, translated into English, transcribed verbatim and presented. These were then placed into categories of the main domains of care deductively through the process of manifest content analysis. Descriptive statistics, alpha coefficient and index of content validity were calculated using SPSS.

Results: Self-care, mobility and social function were identified as main domains, while participation and communication were sub-domains. A total of 100 statements were generated and 78 items were selected deductively. An alpha coefficient of 0.98 was computed and experts judged the items.

Conclusions: The new functional measure with an acceptable level of content validity titled Zambia Spina Bifida Functional Measure (ZSBFM) was developed. It was designed to evaluate effectiveness of interventions given to children with SB from the age of 6 months to 5 years. Psychometric properties of reliability and construct validity were tested and are reported in another study.