The main findings suggest that the content of the modules in the training program was informative and useful. Unless specifically stated otherwise in the text, this thesis is the original work of the undersigned.
THE CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH
Health professionals and others in South Africa are aware of the desperate need for intervention and rehabilitation of disabled children in the country. Non-governmental organizations have been part of this movement to ease some of the burden.
THE DEFINITION OF DISABILITY
The shift from the medical model to the social model, which has been officially accepted by the South African Government, is largely through the establishment of organizations of disabled people or OPOs. In 1984, Disabled People South Africa (DPSA) was founded with 60% of the executive committee consisting of disabled people who were injured due to shooting incidents during the Soweto rights of June 1976 (Philpott & Barry p18).
THE PREVALENCE OF DISABILITY IN SOUTH AFRICA
Couper conducted her research in the Manguzi region and found a prevalence rate of 60 per 1000, similar to Kromberg and Corneljie's findings. Couper noted that in her Manguzi study, only a third of disabled children are known to health care providers in the area.
THE PROVISION OF SERVICES FOR THE DISABLED
OUTLINE OF THE THESIS
Chapter five provides a discussion of the findings in light of the literature and describes the strengths and limitations of this study. This suggests that relatives may be in the difficult situation of feeling wrongly responsible for.
ISSUES FACED BY PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN
Robinson and Robinson (1976) argue that having a child with a disability creates stress and emotional turbulence in the family. In addition, parents experienced guilt for investing more time with the disabled child than with other non-disabled persons.
EMPOWERMENT THEORY
The definition of empowerment used in the most studied literature is the one presented by Rappaport (1987) who says "empowerment is a process, a mechanism by which people, organizations and communities gain mastery over their affairs" (p122 ). According to Rappaport's point 6 in the table above, people who support this Ecological theory of empowerment admit that they have certain presuppositions derived from their values, attitudes, beliefs and intentions.
PARENT EMPOWERMENT
Riger continues by arguing that a sense of empowerment can be illusory when so much of life is governed by politics and practices at a macro level. Kaseje (cited in Philpott, 1992) warns that another danger of empowerment may be that communities may not expect it.
COMMUNITY-BASED REHABILITATION
She feels that focusing solely on the need of individuals 'would be counterproductive unless the basic needs of the. Furthermore, the importance of the process of empowerment in general, and specifically, parental empowerment, was also discussed.
AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
THEORETICAL JUSTIFCATIONS: QUALITATIVE EVALUATION
One of the central aims of action research presented by Louw (1982), which is also important in this particular study, is that of autonomy - "the ability of groups to think and act independently in order to promote the general welfare of their people developed, as well as the personal characteristics of individuals" (p8). According to Stringer (1996), community-based action research is a derivative of the action research approach to inquiry.
REFLECT
OBSERVE ACT
OBSERVE
- PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
- PLANNING AND VENUE OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMME
- THE ROLES OF THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE STUDY
- INTRODUCTION
- TRAINING PROGRAMME
- DEMOGRAPHICS
The initial intention during the conception of the training course was described by the Director of CORC. In planning the training it was agreed that a stated principle would be that.
Categories of people attending each training meeting
As for the perspectives of the actual caregiver - the target population for this course - there was no representation at all. Thus, any decisions regarding the content of the training modules or the process of how they should be implemented were not discussed with the caregivers. This may reflect a decrease in enthusiasm and overall participation over time.
Initially, the entire target group who wanted to participate in the course had to fill in a registration form indicating their level of education and their reason for wanting to participate in the course.
Attendance of both registered and unregistered trainees
The attendance of random observers increased and then slowly decreased, as did the number of professional observers. A trainer made the following comment, which shows how difficult it is to have such a wide range of different and constantly changing populations. I found it quite difficult because the number of people present were at very different levels and I often felt that the mothers were not getting the benefit back from dealing with this range of professionals and mothers and some who had never had any direct contact with multiple limits.
For ease of recording the following findings, "experts" will include trainers/moderators and expert and casual observers.
Comparison of Professional 'others' versus Caregivers
FINDINGS FOR EACH MODULE
At this stage it was also felt that the role of the facilitators needed clarity on the objectives of the group discussions. This would have ensured that the training went smoothly and could have reduced any confusion with the trainers and the trainees. A random observer felt that the trainers should be aware of the terminology they use.
The participants' feelings about the general course of the course will be elaborated in the next section.
ATTITUDE CHANGES
The next section examines the evaluative comments made by a variety of participants in terms of the overall course performance. These comments were made with hindsight and there are comments on the outcome of the course. It would appear that the material covered in some of the modules was innovative and useful.
The director was clearly encouraged by the relationships developed and the participants' enthusiasm for the work of the CORC.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMME IN MPOPHOMENI
In terms of the various skills that were shown to the participants, it seems that they learned a lot. The next chapter will summarize and discuss these findings in light of the literature presented in Chapter Two. The next chapter explores the findings that were presented in chapter four and discusses them in the context of the literature review.
As such, this chapter consists of two sections, namely: a discussion of the findings and recommendations for future educational initiatives in the care of disabled children.
STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE PROGRAMME
- E:valuatn,n
The evaluation in this study focused on the procedure of the intervention and not on the overall outcome. As stated in chapter 4.3 of the findings and more precisely in graph 4.1, there was no participation of caregivers in the planning of the program. Therefore, their reasons for attending may not have been as 'intense' as those of carers.
Regarding the focus group discussions with caregivers, an interpreter had to be used.
INFORMATION FOR FUTURE TRAINING INITIATIVES
Based on the community-based rehabilitation literature, future training initiatives could train more caregivers so that they will. Although a resource list of disability service providers was available to caregivers, this task could be expanded. Modules requested for future training initiatives included dental hygiene, sign language and techniques to avoid tense muscle tone.
The above points are not exhaustive, although they appear to be central recommendations for future training initiatives arising from this particular research.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In consultation with the target group, a thorough needs assessment can be carried out to ensure that the intervention meets their needs and not the perceived needs of the training facilitators. This would contribute to individual empowerment because the researcher would take note of and place value on the decisions and experiences that these caregivers already have. This would involve more advanced training than described in this specific study and could provide greater representation of diverse communities.
CONCLUSION
She also announces that a Zulu translation of the worksheet will be made available to mothers the next time they visit the CDRC. Introduction: The Director of CDRC did not attend the training as she was protecting children. They felt that the facilitators needed clarity about the goals of the group discussions.
Present: The trainers present were the director of the SDK, and a principal of a Special School.
AND 7 - AIDS AND EQUIPMENT MAKING
The Director of the CFC thanked the mothers and trainers for their participation and help with the course. Although participants seemed to enjoy the exercise, none of the mothers actually volunteered to be "in." Present: The trainers present were the director of the CDRC, the Director of the CFC, a student, an OT.
It was agreed that the title of the module would be Handling and positioning during activities of daily living.
USE OF MUSIC
Content: With all students in three groups, the psychologist facilitated discussions aimed at answering questions such as: What is music/what is the value of music. The speech therapist spoke about the appropriateness of music because it would not benefit a very spastic child to play fast, lively music because it would stiffen him. It was presented how music can heal a child in terms of music and body tone.
Different tempos of music were played, and the participants had to actively participate by waving their scarves in tune with the music.
EVALUATION
34;I think it's good to talk about culture, that we look different, that we may come from different cultures, but actually we all get frustrated, we all love our children, there are days when you don't care so much she loves, we all have our guilt and dreams.". We express and deal with it differently, but we all feel the same - get frustrated, guilty, overwhelming love, protectiveness.". Even if plan 1 doesn't work and they don't feel like plan 1 isn't working, plan 2 is the real resource.”
Like feeding a physically disabled child - every day they're feeding that child, so it's important to see what they're doing before you know what to help them with."
