Home Page

Equipment

Sports

School

Cultural

Personal Contributions

There are many types of therapy but the most common are occupational therapy, physio therapy and speech therapy. A disabled person can get all the above therapy but the most important is physio therapy.

Physio therapy helps exercise the muscles...say if you have just had a stroke and your mucles are stiff, you will receive physio to relax your mucles to get them to work again. Physiotherapist's use special technology to help people who are permantly or temporary disabled to acheive the most of their lives.  These technologies are normaly based on movement.  Some  people are treated in a hyghdrotherapy pool where exercise in the water will help with movement or certain mucels may be strengthened in the water.You can find physiotheripst's working in hospitals, in special schools and centers for the handicapped as well as in private practice

Occupational therapy plays a very important part in the life of a disabled person. It helps a disabled person to cope with the problems of dailly living activities eg.eating,drinking, going to the bathroom and daily needs that a normal person can manage.You want to know why it is called ocupational therapy??? well because  the therapist uses "occupation" therapy in it's widest sense to restore lost functions or to devlop alternative means of  performing tasks when this is not possible. Occupational therapists can be found in hospitals, in speciliased centers, day care centers, private practice or in a disabled person's own home .

 Speech therapy helps with talking.  If you have a speech problem you would or should receive speech therapy eg. if you have problems pronouncing your words or lisp.  Just imagine how it must feel when you want to speak but you cannot find the right word to express yourself. Someone who has had a stroke can lose the power of speech and the mental ablitly to put words together in a sentence.  Some parents may not cope with their child being disabled and then reading comes along and they start freaking if they cannot understand their child.  Patience is very important in helping a disabled person who has a speach problem.  DON'T speak for the disabled.  Give the person a chance to say what he/she wants to say even if it takes quite a while to come out.  Communication is a basic human need.  Speech therapy aims at improving communication abilities in children and adults who have disorders in speech.  Approximatley 12% of  the total population suffer from speech problems , ie.3 million people in South Africa need the help of trained speech therapists.