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Provision for children with developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD): audit of the service provider
J M Peters1, S E Henderson, D Dookun
1Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK. judith@peters14.freeserve.co.uk
Insights
Parents reported high satisfaction with physiotherapy services for children with developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) or dyspraxia. While diagnosis remains challenging, the provided care package was well-received by families.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric physiotherapy
- Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD)
- Child movement difficulties
Background:
- Audit of parent/carer satisfaction with services for children with movement difficulties (developmental co-ordination disorder/dyspraxia).
- Focus on out-patient physiotherapy clinic at a specialist tertiary referral paediatric hospital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parent/carer satisfaction with physiotherapy services for children with DCD/dyspraxia.
- To evaluate objective and subjective aspects of the service provided.
Main Methods:
- Postal questionnaire distributed to parents/carers.
- Objective data (waiting times, intervention type) verified against clinical records.
- Subjective satisfaction assessed via ratings and open-ended comments.
Main Results:
- 45 families completed the questionnaire; overall high service ratings.
- Valuable aspects included discussing the child's problems and implications.
- Positive correlation between session number and perceived effectiveness for 1:1 intervention.
- Home program effectiveness linked to practice frequency.
Conclusions:
- Children with coordination problems often face diagnostic challenges.
- Parents/carers expressed satisfaction with the physiotherapy service package post-referral and assessment.
Background:
The aim of this study was to conduct an audit of parent/carer satisfaction with the service provided for children presenting with movement difficulties [developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD)/dyspraxia] at the out-patient physiotherapy clinic of a specialist tertiary referral paediatric hospital.
Method:
A postal questionnaire was used to obtain objective and subjective data on the service offered. Factual information on aspects such as waiting time for first appointment, type of intervention offered, etc. was checked against clinical records. Satisfaction with the service was assessed using ratings and open-ended comment.
Results:
Forty-five families completed the questionnaire. The results showed that the service was generally rated highly. The opportunity to discuss the child's problems and its implications was considered valuable. Among families offered 1 : 1 intervention, a statistically significant correlation emerged between the number of sessions attended and perceived effectiveness. Among families offered a home programme, perceived effectiveness was related to the number of times per week the child practised the programme.
Conclusions:
This study showed that many children from mainstream schools with co-ordination problems continued to find it difficult to obtain a clear diagnosis. Once a referral and assessment had been achieved, however, parents/carers were shown to be satisfied with the package offered by this service provider.
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