BOOK: NORMAL AND IMPAIRED MOTOR DEVELOPM ENT - T H E O R Y AND PRACTICE • AUTHOR: Cardyn O'Brien and Alan Hayes • PUBLISHED: Chapm an and Hall - London • REVIEW: Jane Zucchi The authors exam ine motor development by literature review and their personal studies. Children with normal and im­ paired m otor developm ent are com pared with particular reference to the clumsy and intellectually disabled child and chil­ dren with Down Syndrome. They discuss developm ent in terms of a hierarchy of m ovem ent and from a neurobehavioural p ersp ectiv e. This identifies p ro cesses such as sensory-neurological, integrative- perceptual and motor control. These are considered to influence m ovem ent behav­ iour of norm ally developing children. Specific tests are referred to though not fully described. In my opinion the book is of value as an overview for therapists on cu rren t view s of m otor develop m en t. Practical recom m endations are given to develop well designed developmental in­ tervention program m es. BOOK: PAEDIATRIC RESPIRATORY C A R E - A GUIDE FOR PH YSIOTHERAPISTS AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS • EDITED: S Am m ani Prasad and Juliette Hussey . PUBLISHED: Chapm an and Hall 1995 • REVIEW: Suzanne de C harm oy An essential book for any physiotherapist dealing with paediatric cardiopulm onary disorders. It is easy to read and contains all the fundamentals. The first two chap­ ters involve the development of the car­ d io p u lm o n a ry sy ste m and the b asic physiology of this sam e system . The only detail omitted, which 1 felt would have been of value to include, was the develop­ ment of bronchial sm ooth muscle, and at w hat age it is susceptible to B2 stimula­ tion. C hapter three "Im aging the Paediatric C hest" comprehensively covers its title. Chapter four deals with the management of respiratory failure, involving the moni­ toring, respiratory therapy, intubation and mechanical ventilation. In this chap­ ter a missing point was a wider explana­ tion of oxygen toxicity: how soon does it occur in the paediatric patient on a FlC^of greater than 0.6? Chapter five deals with assessment of the child with respiratory disease and chapter six with physiotherapy techniques and adjuncts to physiotherapy in the paediat­ ric patient. "C om m on Neonatal disor­ d ers" is the title of chapter seven it deals with the disorders themselves plus the physiotherapeutic management. Chapter eight includes an excellent de­ scription of the different paediatric car­ diac conditions and the corrective sur­ gery. The physiotherapy management in the acute stages post-operatively is also well covered. How ever, I felt that more could have been included on the physio­ therapy treatment after 24 hours, that is, once the child is extubated and out of the intensive care unit. Chapters nine and ten deal with the neurological intensive care and respiratory tract disorders respec­ tively. Finally, the last chapter deals solely with cystic fibrosis, the pathology, genet­ ics and physiotherapy treatment. In su m m ary 1 highly recom m end this book as an excellent reference book on p a e d ia tric c a r d io p u lm o n a r y p h y sio ­ therapy. WCPT AFRICA An executive com m ittee m eeting of W CPT Africa was held in H arare in M arch 1995. Although all m em ber or­ ganisations were invited to send rep­ resentatives to the meeting, only those countries with m em bers on the execu­ tiv e c o m m itte e w ere re p re se n te d . These meetings could result in posi­ tive discussion and forward planning and all m em ber organisations should endeavour to send representatives. MATTERS DISCUSSED FINANCE A final financial statem ent for 1994 is still not possible as further information is re­ quired from the Kenyan Congress Secre­ tariat. Subscriptions for 1995 are now due from all mem ber organisations. GUIDELINES FOR HOSTING CONGRESSES Guidelines will be draw n up in H arare to ensure that future congresses are run at a profit so that the Region will be able to function m ore efficiently. The second W CPT Africa congress will be held in H arare during the latter part of 1996. The theme chosen is "Physiotherapy - Profes­ sion of the Fu tu re" and areas to be ad­ dressed are Stroke m anagem ent, OMT, Sports P h y sioth erap y, Q uality A ssu r­ ance and Com m unity-based Rehabilita­ tion. The South African Society of Physio­ therapy has offered to host the third C on­ gress and fourth annual general meeting in 1998. REGIONAL NEWSLETTER A regional newsletter w as given to com ­ mittee members w ho w ere asked to dis­ tribute the information to members of their a sso ciatio n s. The S e cre ta ria t in H arare were congratulated on their in­ itiative in com piling the newsletter in spite of the lack of inform ation from member organisations. Extracts from the newsletter are presented below. EDITORIAL At the third general meeting in Nairobi, April 1994, Mrs Brand and 1 w ere unani­ mously elected for another term of office. I believe this dem onstrated m em bers' confidence in the H arare Secretariat. It has not been easy for the Secretariat to function over the past two years partly because we do not receive regular co rre­ spondence from member organisations. This very im portant role for members has been highlighted in this newsletter. Our first Congress was a great success. Physiotherapy and its associated prob­ lems of rehabilitation were discussed for the first time on the African continent by physiotherapists. The financial assistance we received from WCPT headquarters and WCPT Europe went a long way to­ w ards the organisation of the Congress and assistance tow ards travel expenses for members. One of the main goals of regionalisation w as fulfilled. Most sincere gratitude goes to the Ken­ yan Congress Secretariat headed by Al­ fred Otieno. They worked tirelessly from the beginning to the end of the Congress to ensure the success of the event. It was R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )