REHABILITATION PRACTICES FOR PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL
DISABILITY
1
REHABILITATION IS “A SET OF MEASURES THAT ASSIST INDIVIDUALS
WHO EXPERIENCE, OR ARE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE, DISABILITY TO
ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN OPTIMAL FUNCTIONING IN INTERACTION
WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENTS” (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
[WHO], 2011)
ACCORDING TO (ET ALL, 2005) REHABILITATION AS ANY SERVICES OR
ACTIVITIES THAT ADDRESS OR PREVENT BODY IMPAIRMENTS,
ACTIVITY LIMITATIONS, AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS
EXPERIENCED BY AN INDIVIDUAL.
support and rehabilitation counselling 2
Rehabilitation counseling is focused on helping people who have physical
disabilities achieve their personal, career, and independent living goals
through a counseling process.
evaluate school and medical reports and confer and plan with physicians,
psychologists, occupational therapists, and employers to determine the
capabilities and skills of the individual.
Counselling the family
provision of resources and assistive technology. 3
An assistive technology device can be defined as “any item, piece of
equipment, or product, whether it is acquired commercially, modified, or
customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional
capabilities of individuals with disabilities.
Common examples of assistive devices are:
■ crutches, wheelchairs, and tricycles for people with mobility impairments
■ hearing aids and for those with hearing impairments;
■ white canes, magnifiers, talking books, and software for screen
magnification and reading for people with visual impairments;
■ communication boards and speech synthesizers for people with speech
impairments;
■ devices such as day calendars with symbol pictures for people with
cognitive impairment.
4
Providing Therapy (Unable to care for self)
training, exercises, and compensatory strategies
■ education
■ support and counselling
Teaching parents and family members to use and maintain equipment.
Provision of information and support for parents and family.
