Effect of an Experiential Dysphagia Workshop on Caregivers’ Knowledge, Confidence, Anxiety and Behaviour During Mealtimes
Purpose: Children with cerebral palsy who have associated feeding difficulties are at risk of aspiration and poor nutrition. This study aimed to measure the changes in knowledge, confidence, anxiety and behaviour among 25 Sri Lankan mothers with responsibility for feeding children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, after they attended an experiential workshop.
Methods: Data collection was done through pre- and post-workshop questionnaires, observations and semi-structured interviews.
Results: There was a significant improvement in reported levels of knowledge and confidence and a decrease in the caregivers’ level of anxiety during mealtimes. The qualitative data analysis indicated changes in participant knowledge, particularly about the signs of aspiration and positioning during mealtimes. Observations showed better adherence to recommendations on communication, bolus size and utensils.
Conclusion: The findings support the utility of experiential training for caregivers, to ensure that children with cerebral palsy are fed safely.Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2013 The Author(s)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Zarina Syed, Monique De Bastos, Chuma Pindela, Skye Sutherland, Samantha Melis, Brittany Wort, Tashia Shohsa, A Rapid Review of the Roles of Community Rehabilitation Workers in Community-based Mental Health Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 2: (Summer) - 2022
- Danielle Green, Nathan Grills, Methodological Approaches to Researching Organisations of Persons with Disabilities: a Case Study from Uttarakhand, North India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 3 (2021): Autumn 2021
- Mirna Clemente, Marilis Dallarmi Miguel, Karina Bettega Felipe, Ivan Marangon Schwantes, Darlan Franca Ciesielski Junior, Athos Marangon Schwantes, Christian Burmeister Schonhofen, Tabea Epp Kuster Alves, Tiago Volpi Braz, Luiz Claudio Fernandes, Obdulio Gomes Miguel, Health-Related Quality of Life of Wheelchair Fencers, Sedentary People with Disability and Conventional Fencers in Brazil, Assessed by Short Form 36 (SF-36) , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019): Autumn 2019
- Holly Noel Wescott, Malcolm MacLachlan, Hasheem Mannan, Disability Inclusion and Global Development: A Preliminary Analysis of the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities programme within the context of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- K P Kumaran, Role of Self-help Groups in Promoting Inclusion and Rights of Persons with Disabilities , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 22 No. 2 (2011): Autumn
- Pravesh Arya, Y V Geetha, Factors related to Recovery and Relapse in Persons with Stuttering Following Treatment: A Preliminary Study , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 1 (2013): Spring
- Rachael Abrokwah, Efua Mantey Aggire-Tettey, Augustina Naami, Accessing Healthcare in Ghana: Challenges Encountered and Strategies Adopted by Persons with Disabilities in Accra , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 1 (2020): Spring 2020
- Tjitske de Groot, Ruth Peters, Wim van Brakel, Pieter Meurs, Wolfgang Jacquet, The Cultural Validation of Two Scales assessing Albinism - related Social Stigma among High School Students in Tanzania , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 4 (2019): Winter 2019
- Bala Baskar Kuppusamy, N. Jayanthi Narayan, N Deepa Nair, Awareness among Family Members of Children with Intellectual Disability on Relevant Legislations in India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 23 No. 1 (2012): Spring
- Tahir Dahiru, Zubairu Iliyasu, Aliyu T Mande, Anna T van 't Noordende, Muktar H Aliyu, Emotions, Relationships and Behaviour: a Qualitative Study on Experiences of Stigma among Persons Affected by Leprosy in Northern Nigeria , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 4 (2022): Winter
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Mahishi Ranaweera, R.M.W. Rajapaksha, /t/ before /ʈ/ or /ʈ/ before /t/: Emerging Trends from a Preliminary Study of Consonant Acquisition in Typically developing Sinhala-speaking Children aged 3 to 6 years , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 3 (2021): Autumn 2021
- Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Gopi Kitnasamy, Raj Mahendran, Fathima Shamra Nizar, Chamara Bandara, Paramaguru Gowritharan, Efficacy of a Low-cost Multidisciplinary Team-led Experiential Workshop for Public Health Midwives on Dysphagia Management for Children with Cerebral Palsy , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 29 No. 3 (2018): Autumn 2018
- Shyamani Hettiarachchi, V Subramaniam, Emil Rajah, Paramaguru Gowritharan, Shamra Nizar, Shakeela Saleem, ‘Enabling Access’: A Pilot Study on Access and Use of Assistive Products in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019): Autumn 2019