Document Type

Capstone

Abstract

In the community of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, there is a special needs orphanage in desperate need of assistance for children who have physical and/or intellectual difficulties; they lack the appropriate resources. These children and adolescents also lack various life skills due to either neurological or developmental disease. The diseases most commonly seen in the orphanage are severe cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. Areas affected by these neurological or developmental diseases allow for limitations in a plethora of occupations and performance skills areas. In addition to the children housed in this orphanage, there is also a staff of 33. This staff includes nursing, administrative, kitchen and dietary, and housekeeping who rotate approximately 12 hour shifts as well as 3 physical therapists (J.P. Sangai, personal communication, October 24, 2016). The purpose of this project is to provide assistance through education on occupational therapy facilitated by trained volunteers. The idea is that an occupational therapist will train the volunteers and staff and that this education will be integrated into the children's lives to improve their performance as well as reduce the burden of care from staff. This education will also aim to increase passive and/or active range of motion, decrease risk of soft contractures, develop strength through therapeutic exercises, and utilize compensatory strategies for positioning with the overall goal of improving quality of life.

Publication Date

2017

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