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The aim of this study was to investigate access for Malawian prosthetic and orthotic users with lower limb disabilities to basic human rights such as health and a standard of living adequate for health, education, work, marrying and establishing a family, and voting. A further aim was to investigate differences among subgroups based on gender, level of income, and residential location.

A cross-sectional design and a questionnaire were used to collect data from 83 participants.

Disability and Rehabilitation

https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1752316

Background: Pain in children with cerebral palsy (CP) has its sources in musculoskeletal problems that can influence learning in a school setting. Best pain management is essential for these children, but school staff may not keep up to date with the latest developments and interventions. Therefore, staff’s perceptions of beneficial strategies may not comply with contemporary scientific knowledge about effective evidence-based interventions.

Objectives: This study investigated how pain management intervention for children with CP in South African schools complied with international scientific knowledge about evidence-based interventions. The intention was to provide support for an update of knowledge on both individual level (i.e. professionals) and system level (i.e. decision makers).

Method: Five focus groups were conducted with staff members at five schools for children with special educational needs in South Africa. Manifest and latent content analyses of professional statements identified interventions reported as beneficial and related them to higher and lower levels of intervention evidence as reported at the time of data collection.

Results: Most treatment strategies concerned motor functioning that fell within the framework of physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Access to orthopaedic expertise was limited, waiting times were long and medication for spasticity treatment was not offered.

Conclusion: A discrepancy between published evidence and clinical practice for pain management in children with CP in South African school settings was noted. Suggestions for improved early intervention to identify children’s hips at risk through surveillance programmes; and orthopaedic management are proposed to prevent deformities and unnecessary suffering in South African children with CP.

African Journal of Disability, Vol 8, 2019

India Inclusion Summit is a community driven initiative that aspires to build an Inclusive India by 2030. It is an annual event that began in 2012 to create awareness about disabilities and the need for Inclusion. The event brings together thought leaders and unsung heroes from the field of disability and inclusion to deliberate, discuss and drive change in our society.

Videos of some of the presentations are available including:

My Journey and ‘Deaf gain’ing an accessible India:  Vaibhav Kothari (18 mins), signed

You’re not just special. You’re Special Edition:  SwarnaLatha (11 mins)

Don’t let disability come in the way of things you love: Zoyeb Zia (10 mins), signed

The Adventure of Autism and quest to serve each other: Rupert Isaacson (20 mins), signed

Making a billion people read despite their disabilities: Brij Kothari (21 mins), signed

The ability needed to be whoever you want to be: Devika Malik (13 mins), signed

Everyone has something to give: Suchitra Shenoy (11 mins), signed

From being inclusive to doing acts of inclusion: Yetnebersh Niguissie (12 mins), signed

Finding your missing piece: Jerry White (18 mins), signed

Listening to the voice within that opens infinite possibilities: Rajni Bakshi (15 mins), signed

Being a mother is the most satisfying role: Suhasini Maniratnam (21 mins) signed

In the 1970s and 1980s, Sāmoan women organizers established Aoga Fiamalamalama and Loto Taumafai, two educational institutions, in the independent state of Sāmoa. This article examines these schools’ support of students labelled as ma’i (sick), specifically those with intellectual and physical disabilities. Through oral histories and archival research, I show the vital role performed by the women organizers in changing the educational system by drawing attention to the exclusion of disabled students. I focus on the collective labor of Sāmoan women and their influence in decolonizing schools. In this regard, the women organizers used Sāmoan concepts of fa’a Sāmoa (culture), fanua (land), and tautua (service) as ways to redefine the commitment of the education system. This is a story about daring to reimagine indigenous disabled bodies and their futures through knowledge systems, theory, and literature.

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2019, Vol. 6 No. 1

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 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

"Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability in children worldwide, and yet in most low resource settings there are few services available to support children with cerebral palsy or their families. Research is required to understand the effectiveness of community and/or home based programmes to address this gap. This 2-year study aimed to evaluate a participatory caregiver training programme called ‘Getting to know cerebral palsy’ in Ghana. The training programme consisted of a monthly half-day support group with training, and a home visit, delivered across eight sites in Ghana over 10 months. A total of 76 families and children were included at baseline and 64 families followed up one year later at endline. Children were aged between 18months and 12 years with a mean of 3.8 years and a range of severity of cerebral palsy. Nearly all (97%) the caregivers were female and the father was absent in 51% of families. The study was a pre-post intervention design using mixed methods to evaluate the impact. A baseline and endline quantitative survey was conducted to assess caregiver quality of life (QoL) and knowledge about cerebral palsy and child feeding, health, and nutrition outcomes. Qualitative data was collected to explore the impact and experiences of the training programme in more depth".

"Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) provide a new assistive strategy aimed at restoring mobility in severely paralyzed patients. Yet, no study in animals or in human subjects has indicated that long-term BMI training could induce any type of clinical recovery. Eight chronic (3–13 years) spinal cord injury (SCI) paraplegics were subjected to long-term training (12 months) with a multi-stage BMI-based gait neurorehabilitation paradigm aimed at restoring locomotion. This paradigm combined intense immersive virtual reality training, enriched visual-tactile feedback, and walking with two EEG-controlled robotic actuators, including a custom-designed lower limb exoskeleton capable of delivering tactile feedback to subjects. Following 12 months of training with this paradigm, all eight patients experienced neurological improvements in somatic sensation (pain localization, fine/crude touch, and proprioceptive sensing) in multiple dermatomes. Patients also regained voluntary motor control in key muscles below the SCI level, as measured by EMGs, resulting in marked improvement in their walking index. As a result, 50% of these patients were upgraded to an incomplete paraplegia classification. Neurological recovery was paralleled by the reemergence of lower limb motor imagery at cortical level". It is hypothesised that this unprecedented neurological recovery results from both cortical and spinal cord plasticity triggered by long-term BMI usage."

Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 30383 (2016)
doi:10.1038/srep30383

Purpose:

Currently, there is no internationally accepted way to measure the competency of wheelchair service professionals. The International Society of Wheelchair Professionals aims to develop a Wheelchair Service Provision – Basic Test as a preliminary step towards establishing a certification process. 

Method:

A team of wheelchair service provision experts developed test questions and conducted alpha and beta testing in order to validate them. Low-performing test items were eliminated. A pilot test was then conducted, which focused on developing a pass score, determining language barriers and validating the test as a measure of competency. 

Results:

90 participants completed one of three versions of the Wheelchair Service Provision – Basic Test. A pass score of 70% was established and 135 questions were accepted for the final test. Analysis of variance indicated there was a difference in scores based on language (p = 0.001), but not based on experience level. This result motivated translation in to the United Nations’ official languages.

Conclusions:

The results indicate that the Wheelchair Service Provision – Basic Test is a valid method for measuring basic competency of wheelchair professionals. Additionally, researchers recommend a skills assessment to help to ensure only qualified wheelchair professionals receive the certificate.