Evaluate at the psychosocial level, the experience of parents of children with cerebral palsy in Abidjan (RCI).
Analytical multicenter cross-sectional study carried out over 3 months (April-June 2021) from a sample of 246 biological parents or non-parents of children followed for cerebral palsy. Scales used: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Family Impact of Childhood Disability scale.
Parents aged between 30 and 40 (44.3 %), living with a partner (n = 190) and attending school in 81.7 % of cases. The mean score of the positive FICD items was 14.5 out of 10 and that of the negative items was 20 out of 40, reflecting the presence of symptoms of anxiety and depression in 25 cases (10.3 %) and 22 cases (9 %) respectively in parents. The severity of children's motor impairments was associated with the occurrence of anxiety among parents (P = 0.01) despite their religious faith (P = 0.03). There was no significant association between the children's clinical and sociodemographic parameters, the parents’ religious faith and the parents’ onset of depression (P > 0.05).
Childhood CP had an impact on parents’ psychosocial experiences. This impact was associated with the severity of the child's motor impairment, but the social and economic discomfort was independent of the parents’ social and cultural background and family beliefs and ties. Psychological support for parents of children with CP should not be ignored in the follow-up of these children.
People with cerebral palsy experience frequent and complex pain situations. The co-occurrence of acute and chronic pain increases complexity. To provide an appropriate response, the challenge is to identify the type of pain experienced at a given moment when assessing pain. To understand a subject's unique experience of pain, it may be necessary to adopt a bio-psycho-social model, which considers the mutual interactions between factors of different natures. Recent scientific literature emphasizes the facilitating role that interoceptive sensitivity can play in identifying the specific characteristics of a painful experience. It seems that interoceptive awareness development occurs at an early stage, based on the child's verbal exchanges with those around him. As a result, body-psychological approaches to the development of interoceptive awareness could be advantageously included in the psychological care and therapeutic education programs of children with cerebral palsy, to help them identify the sensations associated with a specific pain experience.
As part of the TOXSIALO-2 study (currently underway) on the drug treatment of drooling in children with cerebral palsy (CP), training material has been developed to intensify and standardize rehabilitation management.
A working group of experts (6 speech and language therapists, 1 occupational therapist, 2 rehabilitation doctors) in the care of CP children with persistent drooling has drawn up a booklet of exercises based on their clinical expertise, presented in an accessible and fun way, to be carried out daily at home as part of an approach based on individualized objectives.
Using the Goal Attainment Scaling methodology, the booklet enables the functional goals to be defined with the child and his or her family (based on the difficulties encountered in daily life as a result of hypersialorrhoea). The therapist can then choose exercises that relate to the deficient skills and individualize them from among the 29 clearly illustrated exercises described in the booklet, divided into 4 key areas of swallowing: nasal breathing, oral sensory information, swallowing reflex and orofacial muscle strengthening. The booklet also enables therapists to monitor compliance with the rehabilitation program.
The booklet can help families to carry out self-rehabilitation or stimulation exercises at home to reduce sialorrhoea. In research, the booklet should also make it possible to better standardize oromotor rehabilitation associated with medical or surgical therapies in this indication, thereby improving the reliability of the therapy.
The text reviews the challenges faced by young people with cerebral palsy. We underline their suffering and its related aspects (suffering regarding pain, suffering regarding the gaze of others, suffering regarding the view of themselves). The article highlights the importance of communicating with these young people, to address these different issues. It aims to encourage healthcare prefessionals to listen to them carefully and to support them in expressing their emotions, even non-verbally. The author shares her experience of using hypnosis or relaxation to help young people suffering from cerebral palsy to overcome their pain. This work aims to take better account of the psychological needs of young people with cerebral palsy, such as the need for security, surroundings, affection, the need to be heard, the need to build their identity and to get positive feedback. It highlights the importance of an empathetic and holistic approach to meet these needs and to promote their well-being.