Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association

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From: Greta von der Luft, BS, MSPT, MEd, PhD Candidate; Principal Investigator

Re: Recruitment of 5^th and 6^th grade children with cerebral palsy and average intelligence or mild mental retardation and their parents to study self concept

Introduction & Significance: Do you have a child with cerebral palsy and average intelligence or a child with cerebral palsy and mild mental retardation in 5^th or 6^th grade? Have you ever wondered how your child feels about himself/herself? Have you ever wondered if your child feels differently about himself/herself in comparison with his/her non disabled peers? Have you ever wondered how your child’s least restrictive environment (LRE) educational placement (i.e. regular classroom with no supports to special school for children with disabilities) may affect how he or she feels about himself/herself? I am trying to answer these important questions by investigating self concept in children with cerebral palsy. Self concept can be defined as how a person views himself/herself and how these perceptions are formed. Also, self concept can be defined as how a child will describe and evaluate his/her abilities. For example, a child may say “I am good looking, I am artistic, a good friend, and I play catch well.” All of these characteristics make up a child’s self concept. A positive self concept is needed to facilitate desirable outcomes in the social, developmental, health, education, and business domains. Much is known about self concept in children without disabilities, but little is known about self concept in children with cerebral palsy. Thus, it is important that we learn more about how children with cerebral palsy feel about themselves so we can help them succeed as much as they possibly can.

Qualifications: Temple University’s Institutional Review Board has fully approved this research. Thus, the study is ethical, safe, and all results will be kept confidential. Drs Shepard, Harman, Nixon-Cave and Koenig are advising the Principal Investigator (PI). The PI has practiced pediatric physical therapy for 10 years, holds master’s degrees in physical therapy and special education, and is a PhD Candidate.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to better understand the self concept of children with cerebral palsy through cross validation of the Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ-I). If the SDQ-I is successfully cross validated, then possible associations between self concept and physical impairment, educational placement, and gender can be investigated.

Needed Participants: 5^th and 6^th grade girls and boys with cerebral palsy and average intelligence or mild mental retardation.

Procedure: The parent and child will be asked to call or email the PI to schedule a short research session at a location that is most convenient for them. At the research session, they will receive a more detailed introduction to the study and be asked to sign an informed consent form and informed assent form. The parent will be asked to complete a demographic form that will contain no identifying information, but will ask questions including gender of the child, his/her LRE educational placement, and grade. The child’s movement will be briefly observed to complete a standardized functional assessment tool. The child will be interviewed using the SDQ-I asking him/her how s/he feels about him/herself. All of the data will be collected and identified using an alphanumeric system and be kept confidential. The study will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. At the end of the study the child will receive a small gift for his/her participation.

Results: A summary of the group results will be shared with the parent and child.

Contact Information: phone (610) 240 9520; email greta@temple.edu or vonderluft@msn.com

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