Effects of a powered mobility summer camp as perceived by school staff: a qualitative study

Purpose Powered mobility has a positive effect on social skills, self-esteem and overall development of children with motor impairments, but almost all previous studies were conducted with pre-school children. The aim of this study was to explore change beyond mobility following a therapeutic powered mobility summer camp for school-aged children and adolescents with severe cerebral palsy, as perceived by school staff. Materials and methods The participants in the therapeutic camp, which ran for 3 weeks, 5 days a week, three times over the summers 2018-2019, were children ages 7-19 (median age 11) with severe cerebral palsy who needed assistance in mobility and had limited hand function. Following the intervention, 19 semi-structured audio-recorded interviews were conducted with school staff, then transcribed and thematically analyzed using an inductive qualitative descriptive design with a phenomenological theoretical framework. Results Four overarching themes were identified: (1) Every step you take: mastering new, sometimes unexpected, skills, (2) Break on through to the other side: changes in behaviour, (3) Make new friends (but keep the old): Boosting social behaviour and (4) I'm a believer: The journey through self-efficacy to empowerment. Conclusions The interviews showed the immediate positive influence of powered mobility for children who previously did not have independent mobility, following an intensive intervention. Changes in initiative, empowerment, social relationships and behaviour highlight the importance of self-generated mobility, regardless of whether independence was achieved. School-aged children with severe cerebral palsy seem to benefit from an intensive powered mobility intervention in areas other than mobility skills themselves.

Automated summary

The study aimed to explore the impact of therapeutic powered mobility summer camp on school-aged children and adolescents with severe cerebral palsy. The results showed that powered mobility had a positive influence on children without independent mobility, leading to changes in initiative, self-efficacy, social relationships, and behavior, highlighting the importance of self-generated mobility regardless of independence.