Depok-Collaboration between the Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI) and the Universitas Indonesia Hospital (RSUI) was held again through community service activities related to seminars and free health checks for children with cerebral palsy. The community service activities also collaborated with the Depok City Cerebral Palsy House.
Amien Suharti, Sp.K.F.R., a lecturer in the Occupational Therapy study program and a specialist in physical medicine and medical rehabilitation at RSUI, said that the sitting position of children with cerebral palsy is an important thing to pay attention to. The right sitting position is very important to support good posture, improve motor function, and reduce discomfort. “The sitting position also allows children to do more things than sleeping or other positions. Therefore, innovation and education are needed about sitting positions to support children with cerebral palsy so that the quality of life of children can be improved,” said dr. Amien, who is also the head of the community service.
(Photo: Community service activities carried out by UI Vocational lecturers together with UI Hospital and the Depok City Cerebral Palsy House)
Muhammad Deryl Ivansyah, Sp.OT(K), an orthopedic and traumatology doctor, subspecialist in pediatric orthopedics at RSUI; Dr. Abdul Aziz, S.Psi., M.Si., lecturer in the Occupational Therapy study program; and Krisna Meidiantoro, an occupational therapist at a private hospital in Jakarta and director of a company engaged in the health sector, were also present to provide education at the community service activity. dr. Amien provided material on education on sitting positions and exercises for children with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a group of posture and movement disorders due to lesions in the brain that occur early in development and cause disorders in the child’s developmental function. Functional limitations in cerebral palsy due to posture and movement problems include difficulty controlling the head, difficulty controlling posture when sitting, limited vocalization, and not using hands to play. “Stretching for children with cerebral palsy is very important to reduce stiffness or spasticity. Stretching can be done twice a day. In addition, sitting positions must also be considered so that children can eat well and get enough nutrition. Therefore, an assistive device is needed in the form of a chair that optimizes the sitting position of children with cerebral palsy,” said dr. Amien.
On the other hand, dr. Deryl explained the orthopedic management of children with cerebral palsy. dr. Deryl revealed that cerebral palsy management can be carried out with several methods, such as botox, plaster casts, and surgery carried out at any time since cerebral palsy was diagnosed. “The hip in children with cerebral palsy must be given serious attention since the early diagnosis because it has a major impact on the child’s quality of life,” said dr. Deryl.
In line with the information conveyed by dr. Deryl, Krisna Meidiantoro showed an innovation of chairs for children with cerebral palsy. The chair is designed to suit the needs and there are several sizes according to the size of the children. They can sit upright assisted by a backrest that can support the child’s neck from falling backward.
Ade Sadikin, a representative of Cerebral Palsy House Depok City, who also participated in the community service activity, expressed his gratitude for the community service activity carried out by the UI Vocational lecturer and RSUI doctor. “We hope that community service activities like this can continue to be present as an effort to educate and promote health to the wider community, especially for those of us who accompany friends with cerebral palsy,” concluded Ade.
