Browsing by Author "Nel, Lejeanne"

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    Perdryterapie vir laerskoolleerders met fisiese gestremdhede: Sienings van professionele en beroepspersone
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Nel, Lejeanne; Green, Sulina; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Children with a physical disability in their middle childhood phase are very vulnerable as they are dependent on others to fulfil their basic needs. Equine-assisted therapy provides these children the opportunity to promote their balance, posture and self-esteem and to function more independently and thus reaching their full potential. The type of physical disability that the child has as well as the child’s physical, cognitive and psycho-social developmental stage must be taken into consideration when a care plan is compiled for the child. Little research is done regarding the physical and emotional benefits of equine-assisted therapy for primary school children with a physical disability and the role of the social worker in utilising equine-assisted therapy. This study tries to close this gap in research. Different role players, namely the occupational therapist, speech therapist, horse riding instructor, teacher and physiotherapist are involved in equine-assisted therapy. The goal of this study is to obtain the views of professional and occupational people who are involved in equine-assisted therapy with primary school learners who are physically disabled. A qualitative research approach was followed and descriptive and exploratory research designs were used because little literature is available about the role of the social worker and other professional and occupational people who utilise equine-assisted therapy for primary school learners who are physically disabled. The research question is: How do professional and occupational people utilise equine-assisted therapy for middle childhood children with a physical disability? A purposive sample of participants consisting of fifteen professional and occupational people who are involved with equine-assisted therapy, was used. A semi-structured interview schedule was used for individual interviews with participants to gather data. The most prominent findings and conclusions of the study are firstly that the social worker should form part of a multi-disciplinary team when a care plan to utilise equine-assisted therapy is compiled for a chid in the middle childhood phase that has a physical disability. Secondly professional and occupational people who are involved in equine-assisted therapy should have the necessary qualifications when working with a child that has a physical disability. Thirdly equine-assisted therapy has various benefits for the child with a physical disability to promote their level of functioning independently. Lastly the child’s self-esteem increases to such a degree that the children can express their needs and their relationship with the people closest to them improves. The most prominent recommendation is that there is a need to raise awareness regarding the social worker’s role in utilising equine-assisted therapy as a therapeutic mechanism. Lastly recommendations for future research were made. This includes that more research must be done that focus on the benefits and use of equine-assisted therapy as a therapeutic mechanism for children of all ages, as well as how social workers can be involved in the process.