Year: 1967
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: In the pediatrics of tomorrow, problems involved in rehabilitation will in all probability play a much greater role than at present. The children with cerebral palsy constitute an important group requiring rehabilitation. Since data concerning the size of this group, the quality of the disabilities, and their degree of severity are necessary prerequisites for planning medical and educational rehabilitation, an investigation was performed in 1964 through the initiative of Vajaaliikkeisten Kunto ry (Association for Rehabilitation of CP Children), the results of which are surveyed in the article. From those Central Hospital Districts where a special CP outpatient department had already been active for several years, 801 CP cases (of whom 756 were available for estimation at the time of the study) were found from among children and youth born during the years 1947–61. The prevalence thus, in these areas, was 1.6 to 2.1 per one thousand live births, or as an average 2.0 per mille. This figure agrees well with those found in other Northern countries and in Scotland. Proportionally, the greatest number of CP children were found among the school-aged, which would suggest that our figure is a minimum estimate and that all CP children below school age are not recognized. In the country as a whole, according to this figure, there would be about 2,400 CP children born over the years 1947–61. When the degree of severity was investigated, it was found that 35% of the children were unable to move unaided. Forty-five percent were mentally retarded (of them one-third to a mild degree). Visual disturbances were present in about one-third of all, whereas auditory disorders were only established in 4%; this figure, however, is misleading since audiometric examination was not regularly employed. Speech disturbances were found in about 50%, and convulsive seizures had occurred in 30%. Investigation concerning school and other placement revealed that 25% of the CP children who were on a normal school or special education level received no school education because of their disability. About 2% of the CP children were physically so severely disabled that they would need a special institute for training and rehabilitation. The CP children thus constitute a fairly large and multidimensionally disabled group, the rehabilitation of which requires a versatile team. Within the framework of the hospital organization in this country, such a team can best be created in the Central Hospitals. The team should work in close cooperation with school authorities in order that the present deplorable situation should improve. The primary need would be that of CP classes in normal schools in larger centers as well as boarding houses in association with them.
DOI: 10.23990/sa.155787
Language: Finnish
Subfield: Rehabilitation
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4406234034