Department of Allied Health Professions, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury CT1 1QU, UK.
Disabil Rehabil. 2011;33(19-20):1912-24. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2010.544837. Epub 2011 Jan 10.
To explore teachers and teaching assistants' (TAs) views of how to manage the postural care needs of children with physical disabilities (PD) in mainstream primary schools, with the aim of developing strategies to support teachers and assistants in this role.
Qualitative data were gathered from a purposive sample of four primary schools in one county in the U.K. Individual and focus group interviews with 36 teachers and TAs were carried out and used to generate an explanatory framework around their experiences of managing the postural care needs of children with PD.
Teachers and TAs in schools were found to have limited understanding of postural management. Very few had personal experience of the benefits of postural care--instead, most appeared to think in terms of 'doing' rather than 'knowing' about postural care. When implementing therapy programmes, teaching staff followed therapists' instructions carefully, but did not understand the purpose of their actions. Participants described the emotional impact of caring for a child with PD and expressed anxieties about causing discomfort when using equipment such as specialist seating and standing frames. Equipment was viewed as bulky, uncomfortable and restrictive and not suited to the school environment. When asked which kinds of support would be valuable, participants identified practical solutions such as additional space or resources. Based on these findings, therapists, specialist teachers and parents developed an 'A-Z of postural care'. This information resource aimed to address the gaps in knowledge and understanding highlighted by teachers and TAs in the interviews and to acknowledge their anxieties when teaching and caring for children with PD. Stakeholder involvement in all aspects of the project from setting the research question to the development of the A-Z resource has assisted in the dissemination of the resource and its integration into the mainstream school system within the county.
探索教师和助教如何管理在主流小学中残疾儿童的姿势护理需求，旨在制定支持教师和助教在这一角色中的策略。
从英国一个县的四所小学中抽取了有目的的样本，收集了定性数据。对 36 名教师和助教进行了个人和焦点小组访谈，并利用这些数据生成了一个解释框架，阐述了他们在管理残疾儿童姿势护理需求方面的经验。
学校的教师和助教对姿势管理的理解有限。很少有人有个人体验过姿势护理的好处——相反，大多数人似乎更倾向于“做”而不是“知道”姿势护理。在实施治疗计划时，教学人员会仔细遵循治疗师的指示，但并不理解他们行动的目的。参与者描述了照顾残疾儿童的情感影响，并对使用特殊座椅和站立架等设备时可能会引起不适表示担忧。他们认为设备笨重、不舒服且限制了活动，不适合学校环境。当被问及哪些支持是有价值的时，参与者提出了一些实际的解决方案，例如增加空间或资源。基于这些发现，治疗师、特殊教育教师和家长共同开发了一个“姿势护理 A-Z”信息资源。这个资源旨在解决教师和助教在访谈中强调的知识和理解方面的差距，并承认他们在教和照顾残疾儿童时的焦虑。利益相关者参与了从设定研究问题到开发 A-Z 资源的项目的各个方面，这有助于该资源的传播，并将其整合到该县的主流学校系统中。
