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
- Lekshmi Radhakrishnan Suresh, Kavitha Rai, Amitha Mahesh Hegde, Cynthia Vinitha Dsouza, Barriers to Utilisation of Dental Services among Children with Disabilities in a Coordinated Healthcare Programme in Mangalore, South India: A Mixed Methods Study , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Masateru Higashida, Community Mobilisation in a CBR Programme in a Rural Area of Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 25 No. 4 (2014): Winter 2014
- Meisa Puspitasari, Kusnandi Rusmil, Dida Gurnida, The Relationship Between Gross Motor Function and Quality of Life Among Children with Cerebral Palsy , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 4 (2013): Winter 2013
- Adriana Angarita-Fonseca, Stacey Lovo, Isabel Cristina Gomez-Diaz, Julia Bidonde, Martha Liliana Hijuelos-Cardenas, Maria Basualdo, Kalyani Premkumar, Melvin Urbina-Nuñez, Angela Busch, International Continuing Education for Rehabilitation Workers in Honduras: a Pre-test Post-test Evaluation , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 4: Winter 2021
- Arisha Qayyum, Seema Zainulabdin Lasi, Ghazala Rafique, Perceptions of Primary Caregivers of Children with Disabilities in two Communities from Sindh and Balochistan, Pakistan , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 1 (2013): Spring
- Meivizhi Narayansamy, Vidya Ramkumar, Roopa Nagarajan, Knowledge and Beliefs about Ear and Hearing Health among Mothers of Young Children in a Rural Community in South India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 25 No. 4 (2014): Winter 2014
- Fleur Heleen Boot, Ritu Ghosh, John Gerard Dinsmore, Malcolm MacLachLan, Views and Experiences of People with Intellectual Disabilities to Improve Access to Assistive Technology: Perspectives from India , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Masateru Higashida, Joseph Soosai, Jacob Robert, The Impact of Community-Based Rehabilitation in a Post-Conflict Environment of Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 28 No. 1 (2017): Spring 2017
- Paul Ajuwon, George Chitiyo, Liziana N Onuigbo, Adaka T Ahon, James E Olayi, Teachers’ Attitudes towards Inclusion of Blind or Partially-Sighted Students in Secondary Schools in Nigeria , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 2 (2020): Summer 2020
- Sudath Piyankara Abeywickrama, Inoka Kumudini Jayasinghe, Samanmali Priyanga Sumanasena, Excluded in Inclusive Schools: Experiences of Children with Disabilities, their Families and Teachers in Sri Lanka , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 24 No. 1 (2013): Spring
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