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Nursing Care for Children with Disabilities
April 22, 2022
Disabilities in children arise either due to birth defects or accidents in the later years of life. These defects hinder the way in which multiple body parts and systems work. Nursing care for children with disabilities focuses on detailed health assessment as a primary factor.
Right from asking the parents about the diagnosis to coordinating with health professionals involved in the treatment plan, everything is important. When dealing with disabled children, parents are the best resources for information. This is why parent education is considered crucial if a child has been diagnosed with a new condition.
If caring for disabled children interests you as an option for nursing in Canada, keep reading to know more about them.
- Nutritional Considerations: The number of children who are facing chronic illnesses and disabilities is increasing with each passing day. There are many reasons for this increase. Many of these conditions need high-quality medical interventions so that malnutrition or other eating disorders can be prevented.
- Make sure that the child is positioned correctly. It is always preferred the child is in a sitting position.
- Teach the child to drink from a cup and chew properly.
- Remind the child to swallow the food.
- Place the food on the side of the child’s mouth and not in the centre. Do not rush this process so that choking can be prevented.
- Encourage the child to use the lips for removing food from the spoon and bite off pieces of food. Move the food in the mouth with the tongue. This can also help in preparing the child for speech.
- Make sure that the eating process is pleasant. If possible, make sure that many people are eating together.
- Allow the child to do as much self-feeding as possible while keeping the table neat and clean.
