In the current practice of physical therapy for children, more and more attention is paid to parental participation. In the past, physical therapy was mainly the exclusive domain of therapists and physicians and parents were usually not involved. Nowadays, physical therapists are aware of the benefits of parent involvement in pediatric therapy and welcome parental involvement when possible.
This has allowed the role of parents to change from a passive one into an active participating one as they become a sort of co-therapist. In some cases, parents are even encouraged to incorporate therapy activities at home or implement a home exercise program after intensive therapy.
At NAPA, we try to incorporate parents into our weekly sessions as much as we can so that you can take home one to two activities to work on throughout the week to keep your child’s progression moving forward. We love to problem-solve with our parents on how to make various activities easy to complete at home and find a fun way to make it part of your daily routine so that exercise becomes fun and enjoyable! The more fun it is, the easier it is to complete at home and the more new and different activities we can complete here!
The first argument involves child functioning. In order to transfer physical therapy in the rehabilitation center to the daily functioning of the child, it is important to introduce therapy activities into daily practice. Parents can play a crucial role in this transfer.
The second factor is the effect this has on the role of the parent. Parents who participate in the physical therapy for their children with disabilities are likely to develop more insight into the abilities of their children, resulting in a more realistic view of their child’s potential in terms of daily functioning. By participating in therapy, parents can become more adept at taking care of their child. Eventually, this increases parents’ confidence in their own competence and reduces parental stress.
Join the “NAPA Center Parents” Facebook group for your local clinic to stay in touch with other local NAPA parents.
