From  the variations in the responses 
given by respondents who were inter­
viewed concerning causes o f disabilities, 
one can tell that most o f the respondents 
had lim ited levels o f understanding o f 
the causes o f disability. A possible rea­
son why m ost parents/caregivers hardly 
knew the cause o f disability could have 
been due to the level o f education, 
because none o f the respondents had a 
sound education.

The results o f the study showed that 
som e parents felt that they were com ­
pletely responsible for the disability o f 
their child, others felt some responsibi­
lity, and only one felt that they were not 
responsible for the disability o f their 
child. T hese results can be com pared 
with earlier studies which have shown 
that one o f the most frequently cited 
reactions com m only attributed to parents 
o f disabled children is that o f guilt 
(Leavitt, 1992; Pimm, 1996.) Lack o f 
adequate in fo rm atio n  regarding the 
child’s disability, can be a m ajor source 
o f stress in m ost families. Therefore, it 
is relevant that causes o f disabilities 
are explained to parents o f disabled chil­
dren in order to reduce the possibilities 
o f stress.

M uch has been w ritten about the 
role o f professionals in dealing with

families who are stressed (Cherry, 1989). 
Although health professionals may not 
w ork with fam ilies directly in coping 
w ith som e o f their perceptions, they can 
play a m ajor role in preventing unneces­
sary stressful situations by providing 
adequate inform ation about the child’s 
condition in term s o f aetiology and the 
likely prognosis. Helping and working 
with such fam ilies requires a m ultidisci­
plinary effort. Effective com m unication 
among families, professionals and know­
ledge o f community resources will there­
fore, be crucial for the am elioration o f 
perceptions w hich may cause stress 
in fam ilies caring for children with 
cerebral palsy.

REFERENCES

A bram s, E. & G oodm an, J. (1998). D iagnosing 
d e v elo p m en tal p ro b lem s in children: Parents 
a nd pro fessio n als neg o tia te  bad new s. Journal 
o f  P a ediatric P sychology, 23 (2):, 87-98.

A dam s, G .L. (1992). R eferral advise g iven by 
p h ysicians. M ental R eta rd atio n , 20: 16-20.

Cherry, D. B. (1989). S tress co p in g  in fam ilies 
w ith ill or disabled children: A pplication o f  the 
m odel to  paed iatric  therapy. P h y siotherapy 
and O ccupational T h era p y  P a ediatrics, 9 (2):,
11-32.

F oster, G. M . & A nderson, B. G. (1978). : 
M edical A nthropology: E thnom edicine. A lfred 
K nopf, N ew  York.

K le in m a n , A. (1980). P a tie n ts and h ealers in 
the c o n te x t o f  c ulture. U n iv e rsity  o f  C alifo rn ia  
Press: B erkley, C a lifo rn ia  a nd L ondon.

L eavitt, R. L. (1992). D isability and R e h ab ili­
ta tio n  in ru ral Ja m a ic a : A n E th n o g ra p h ic  
study. A sso c ia ted  U n iv e rsity  Press, L ondon 
and Toronto.

L ynch, E ., & S taloch, N . (1988). Parental 
p e rce p tio n s o f  p h y sic ia n s’ c o m m u n ica tio n  in 
the in form ation process. M e ntal R e tardation, 
26: 77-81.

P im m , P. L. (1 9 9 6 ).S om e o f  the im p licatio n s 
o f  c arin g  fo r a ch ild  o r a d u lt w ith c erebral 
palsy. B ritish jo u rn a l o f  O ccupational T herapy, 
59 (7): 335-340.

R e is , R. (1 9 9 2 ). H e it Z ie k te s te m p e l in 
Sw aziland. A n th ro p o lo g o sc h e  V erkenningen, 
3: 27-43.

W h ite  P a p e r on  an In te rg ra te d  N a tio n a l 
D is a b ilitu y  S tra te g y  ( N o v e m b e r 1997). 
O ffice o f  the D eputy P re sid e n t T. M . M beki, 
R e public o f  S outh A frica.

W H O  (1980). Intern a tio n a l C lassific a tio n  o f  
Im pairm ent, D isability and H andicap. G eneva.

W H O  (1997). T he Intern a tio n a l C lassific a tio n  
o f Im p airm en ts, A c tivities and P a rticipation: a 
m anual o f  dim e n sio n s o f  d isa b le m en t and 
fu nctioning, “b e ta -1 ” . G eneva

B o o k  

R e v i e w

PNF in Practice - An Illustrated Guide
2nd revised edition
Springer-Verlag
Susan S Adler, D om iniek Beckers,
M ath B uck

B ooks on PN F tend to be very tech­nical, but I was pleasantly surprised 
when review ing this book. It is easy to 
follow w ith plenty of illustrations to 
assist the reader in understanding the 
text. The authors have em phasised that 
it is a practical techniques book using 
visual aids rather than words to describe 
actions. I did find that it had little theory,

and as suggested, further reading is nec­
essary in this area for postgraduates. 
Certainly this book is m ore than ade­
quate for undergraduates and for the 
generalist who wants to have a reference 
book handy. It has all the basics - princi­
ples, special techniques (not all - I felt 
timing for em phasis was not com pre­
hensively explained), upper and lower 
limb patterns, neck and trunk patterns 
and face patterns. It gives good alternate 
staring positions w ith both new and 
old terminology. I found that it not 
only incorporated both upper and lower

limb patterns with m at w ork (alternate 
positions) and special techniques, but 
also listed all the m uscles used in a 
particular pattern. I find the presentation 
encouraging as generally students have 
difficulty in integrating different concepts. 
I was also pleased to see that precautions 
were specially m entioned in block form.

I have a m ajor concern that this book 
lacks an index o f subject matter. I would 
how ever definitely recom m end this book 
to the undergraduate and the qualified 
generalist.
Jessica Lund

SA J o u r n a l  o f  P h y s io th e ra p y  2001 V o l  57 No 2 31

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