Sigrid Østensjø - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Uploads

Papers by Sigrid Østensjø

International Handbook of Occupational Therapy Interventions, 2009

Disability and rehabilitation. Assistive technology, Jan 14, 2015

Purpose: To gain more knowledge about ATDs as social-cultural objects in school settings, particu... more Purpose: To gain more knowledge about ATDs as social-cultural objects in school settings, particularly from the children's perspective. Methods: Nine children with cerebral palsy, aged five to six years, were observed 3 days in kindergarten and twice in the first year at primary school. At the primary school, we interviewed the children. During the interviews, the children were shown photos taken during the observations. In addition, dialogues with parents, therapists and school staff were carried out. Results and discussions: ATDs seem to have the potential both to exacerbate disability and to enhance selfhood, embodied capacities and participation. Through use, ATDs become social objects with symbolic values that influence their use. Devices corporally embedded into the child's body schema appeared as facilitators for participation in culturally valued activities. In contrast, devices prescribed as medical interventions tended to be greeted with ambivalence by the children...

Disability and Rehabilitation, 2005

Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 2014

To describe motor training and physical activity among preschoolers with cerebral palsy (CP) in N... more To describe motor training and physical activity among preschoolers with cerebral palsy (CP) in Norway, and assess associations between child, parent, and motor intervention characteristics, and parent-reported child benefits from interventions. Survey of 360 parents and data from the Norwegian CP follow-up program. The response rate was 34%. During the six months preceding the time of the survey, 75% of the children performed gross-motor training, 73% fine-motor training, 80% manual stretching, and 67% participated regularly in physical activities. The training was highly goal-directed, intensive, frequently incorporated in daily routines, and often with a high level of parental involvement. The use of goals was associated with higher parent-reported child benefits for all types of interventions. Moreover, the positive relationship, which was indicated between frequency of training, parent education, and parent-reported child benefits of gross-motor training, was not seen for fine-motor training. Parent-reported child benefits support goal-directed motor interventions, and the use of everyday activities to increase practice of motor skills.

Disability & Rehabilitation, 2006

Assessment of everyday functioning in children may depend to a considerable extent on the framewo... more Assessment of everyday functioning in children may depend to a considerable extent on the framework used to conceptualise functioning and disability. The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) has incorporated the mediating role of the environment on disability, using different measurement scales. The construction of the Functional Skills scales, which measure capability, and the Caregiver Assistance scales, which measure performance, was based on the Nagi disablement scheme. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) represents a new framework of functioning and disability that could be used to compare the measurement constructs and the content of different outcome measurements. To examine the conceptual basis and the content of the PEDI using the ICF. Phrases that describe the conceptual basis of the PEDI scales and of the ICF classifications were systematically collected and compared. Two researchers classified the item content of the Functional Skills scales independently before consensus was reached. The analyses indicate that the conceptual basis of the PEDI scales to a large extent match the ICF concepts of activity, participation and environmental factors. Both the PEDI and the ICF use the constructs of capacity and performance, but differ in how to operationalise these constructs. The classification of the Functional Skills scales shows that the PEDI primarily is a measure of activities and participation. The frequently use of environmental codes to classify the context of the requested functions demonstrates that the PEDI has incorporated the environment into the assessment. Our analyses indicate that the ICF could serve as a conceptual framework to clarify the measurement construct of the PEDI scales, and as taxonomy to describe and clarify the item content of the Functional Skills scales. Both as framework and taxonomy the ICF showed limitations in covering functioning in early childhood.

Disability & Rehabilitation, 2005

Purpose. The study describes use of assistive devices and other environmental modifications, and ... more Purpose. The study describes use of assistive devices and other environmental modifications, and their impact on everyday activities and care in young children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method. Ninety-five children (55 boys, 40 girls; mean age 58 months, SD 18 months) and their parents were studied using a cross-sectional design. The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) was applied to assess daily activities using the three measurement scales: functional skills, caregiver assistance, and modifications of the environment. Use of modifications was described related to the five severity levels of the Gross Motor Function Classifications System (GMFCS). Impact was rated on the Caregiver Assistance scale of the PEDI and on a five-point Likert scale. Results. Out of the 1075 provided environmental modifications, 980 were in regular use to support mobility, self-care and social function among 84 children. The number increased with GMFCS levels; children at levels IV and V used 80% of the modifications, with large variations between the children at same level. Adaptations of housing and transportation facilitated effective use of assistive devices. Half of the parents rated the modifications to have moderate to very large effect on the child's mobility, 25% on self-care skills, and 20% on social function. Furthermore, 65% reported that the modifications lightened the caregiving for mobility, 75% for self-care and 25% for social function. Functional independence and care demands often benefited from different types of modifications. Conclusion. The variations in use and benefits of environmental modifications indicate need of comprehensive assistive technology assessments, including child factors, family factors, technology factors and service system factors.

Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2003

Everyday functioning is described in 95 children with cerebral palsy (CP; 55 males and 40 females... more Everyday functioning is described in 95 children with cerebral palsy (CP; 55 males and 40 females; mean age 58 months, SD 18 months, range 25 to 87 months) using the three scales of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI): Functional Skills, Caregiver Assistance, and Modifications of the Environment. Types of CP in the children were hemiplegia, (n=19), spastic/ataxic diplegia, (n=44), spastic quadriplegia, (n=16), dyskinetic, (n=9), and mixed (n=7). Symptoms were grouped by severity according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS): 23% were classified at level I, 21% at level II, 10% at level III, 23% at level IV, and 23% level V. A large variability in functioning in mobility, self-care, and social function was seen because of the heterogeneity of children with CP. Limitations in achievement of activities, need for assistance, and use of assistive devices increased progressively with GMFCS level. Furthermore, these children differed to a great extent from the normative sample of the PEDI. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the GMFCS was a good predictor of everyday functioning with age and learning problems as significantly contributing factors, particularly in self-care and social function. In conclusion, the three scales of the PEDI represent different but strongly related aspects of everyday functioning in young children with CP.

Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 2007

Child: Care, Health and Development, 2009

Background In paediatric rehabilitation, there is a belief in goal-setting as a fundamental compo... more Background In paediatric rehabilitation, there is a belief in goal-setting as a fundamental component of decision-making that encourages collaboration and motivation, and improves outcomes. This study aimed to explore parents' and professionals' perceptions of setting and implementing goals within a family centred rehabilitation programme for preschoolers with cerebral palsy (CP)