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Why is it important for children with spinal cord injuries to set their own rehabilitation goals? - Sara Klaas, MSW

Why is it important for children with spinal cord injuries to set their own rehabilitation goals?

Sara Klaas, MSW

Director, Spinal Cord Injury Service, Shriners Hospital for Children, Chicago

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Transcript
We like to have our children who sustain spinal cord injuries help set their own goals during the rehabilitation process. It’s important for parents and for therapists in our spinal cord injury team to talk about goals and make sure we’re... Show More

We like to have our children who sustain spinal cord injuries help set their own goals during the rehabilitation process. It’s important for parents and for therapists in our spinal cord injury team to talk about goals and make sure we’re all heading in the right direction. But it’s crucial that the child is involved in the goal setting process. If they’re not involved in that process, they won’t be as vested in working hard towards those rehabilitation goals. An example: if a 12 year old girl comes to us and says she wants to do an overnight at a friend’s house, and she is interested in being able to independently do her cathing, she’s going to be much more vested in that goal in order to stay overnight at her friend’s house, than if the nurses or the occupational therapists said, “Well, now you’re 12, and we want you to catheterizes yourself independently.” So, having a child look at what’s going on for them at school, in their environment and at home, and come up with goals that are specific to what they want to do, helps keep them motivated in rehabilitation.

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Why is it important for children with spinal cord injuries to set their own rehabilitation goals?

Sara Klaas, MSW

Director, Spinal Cord Injury Service, Shriners Hospital for Children, Chicago

More Videos by Sara Klaas
Transcriptadd

We like to have our children who sustain spinal cord injuries help set their own goals during the rehabilitation process. It’s important for parents and for therapists in our spinal cord injury team to talk about goals and make sure we’re all heading in the right direction. But it’s crucial that the child is involved in the goal setting process. If they’re not involved in that process, they won’t be as vested in working hard towards those rehabilitation goals. An example: if a 12 year old girl comes to us and says she wants to do an overnight at a friend’s house, and she is interested in being able to independently do her cathing, she’s going to be much more vested in that goal in order to stay overnight at her friend’s house, than if the nurses or the occupational therapists said, “Well, now you’re 12, and we want you to catheterizes yourself independently.” So, having a child look at what’s going on for them at school, in their environment and at home, and come up with goals that are specific to what they want to do, helps keep them motivated in rehabilitation.

Why is it important for children with spinal cord injuries to set their own rehabilitation goals?
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