The Halliwick concept is widely used in different settings to promote joyful movement in water and swimming. To assess the swimming skills and progression of an individual swimmer, a valid and reliable measure should be used. The Halliwick-concept-based Swimming with Independent Measure (SWIM) was introduced for this purpose. We aimed to determine its content validity and inter-rater reliability. Fifty-four healthy children, 3.5-11 years old, from a mainstream swimming program participated in a content validity study. They were evaluated with SWIM and the national evaluation system of swimming abilities (classifying children into seven categories). To study the inter-rater reliability of SWIM, we included 37 children and youth from a Halliwick swimming program, aged 7-22 years, who were evaluated by two Halliwick instructors independently. The average SWIM score differed between national evaluation system categories and followed the expected order (P(0.001), whereby a ceiling effect was observed in the higher categories. High inter-rater reliability was found for all 11 SWIM items. The lowest reliability was observed for item G (sagittal rotation), although the estimates were still above 0.9. As expected, the highest reliability was observed for the total score (intraclass correlation 0.996). The validity of SWIM with respect to the national evaluation system of swimming abilities is high until the point where a swimmer is well adapted to water and already able to learn some swimming techniques. The inter-rater reliability of SWIM is very high; thus, we believe that SWIM can be used in further research and practice to follow the progress of swimmers.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1609833
One of the skeletal abnormalities frequently found in children with cerebral palsy (CP) is increased femoral neck anteversion (FNA). During clinical examination, FNA can be estimated in children with CP if passive range of motion (ROM) of internal and external hip rotation is measured, observed and compared, as well as by using the Trochanteric Prominent Angle Test (TPAT). The aim of the study was to assess reliability of the two methods for estimating FNA during clinical examination in children with CP. The participants were children with CP treated as outpatients or in-patients at the children's department of the University Rehabilitation Institute in Ljubljana between December 2009 and June 2010. Four series of measurements were performed with each child by four physiotherapists. Each series included goniometric measurement of passive ROM of internal and external hip rotation, followed by three consecutive measurements of FNA angle using the TPAT on both lower limbs. Thirty-one children participated, 14 boys and 17 girls, aged 9 years on average. All the intra-class correlation coefficients, which were used for assessing intra- and inter-rater reliability of FNA angle measurement and passive ROM of internal and external hip rotation on the right and left side, were high (0.7 to 0.9). The results show that the methods for determining FNA angle during clinical examination in the addressed population are reliable. Hence, they are suitable and useful for clinical practice within rehabilitation.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1613417
This paper presents two case studies of two children with severe motor disabilities. After years of no effective feedback from them, an interdisciplinary approach had been explored with the use of an eye controlled computer. A multidisciplinary team in clinical environment included a specialist in physical and rehabilitation medicine, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist and an engineer. Several applications were tested to establish feedback from the users, using the only movement they were capable of: eye movement. Results have shown significant improvement in interaction and communication for both users. Some differences were present, possibly due to the age difference. Preparation of content for augmented and alternative communication is in progress for both users. We realized that awareness of the existent advanced assistive technology (AT) is crucial for more independent and qualitative life, from parents or care givers to all AT professionals, working in clinical environment.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1612137