Family-Centered Approach in the Management of Children With Cerebral Palsy

There has been a growing understanding that the family has an important role in the life of children with disabilities. Family-centered care was developed to facilitate the process of care of children with special needs and their families. Since then, it has been widely used in child health and afterward implemented to the pediatric rehabilitation. The acceptance of family-centered care and the emergence of new theories on motor development have influenced the management of children with cerebral palsy. The interventions have become more family- and function-focused, rather than child-focused. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the theoretical background of the approaches to cerebral palsy, family-centered care as a conceptual framework and its implications for therapy approaches that are used in the management of children with cerebral palsy. Turk J Phys Med Rehab 2012;58:229-35