Article

During the past two decades, awareness of the role of the family in the child's
life has increased and the term 'family-centred services' (FCS) has been
introduced to facilitate care for children with special needs and their families.
It is, however, unclear how various early intervention programmes incorporate
family involvement in service delivery. The present study systematically analyses
the nature of family involvement in six frequently used early intervention
programmes for infants at high risk of developmental disorders:
neurodevelopmental treatment, treatment according to Vojta, Conductive Education,
Infant Health and Development Program, Infant Behaviour Assessment and
Intervention Program, and Coping with and Caring for infants with special needs -
a family-centred programme (COPCA). The analysis shows that the role of the
family is diverse: it varies from parent training to be a therapist without
attention to family function (in Vojta) to the autonomous family that receives
coaching (COPCA). The data suggest two trends over time:
(1) from child-focused
to family-focused orientation; and (2) from professionally directed guidance to
coaching based on equal partnership.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2011 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS