Last time, I blogged about quality
of life in children and adolescents. This blog stays close to the topic writing
about young people with CP embarking on their road to independence, the
challenges they face and their dreams about their future. Elisabet Björquist
and colleagues from Lund University explored how young people with CP
experience their own health, well-being and support needs on their way to
becoming adults. They were hoping that the views will help them to see how
transition programmes work in Sweden and whether there is anything that could
be done to make transition easier for young people with CP.
The authors interviewed 12 Swedish
17-18 year olds either individually or in a group setting to learn about their
views on important topics such as family, friends and love, hopes for the
future and challenges in daily life and the support they would need. During the
interviews, the authors used pictures to guide them through the discussions.
From the interviews it
became clear that they were looking forward to being adults, but were not
always sure whether they were ready yet. They voiced the same hopes for their
future as any other young person about to leave home: stressing how important good
friends are and that finding a partner would be nice too, but sometimes being
unsure how to get to know people. On the other hand they were aware of needing continued
support to gain more independence. Not just for learning new skills such as
cooking but also doing things like preparing a sandwich or tying shoe laces.
The young people look
forward to becoming more independent and think that the process should be a
gradual one. Knowledge on what kind of support to expect and where to find it
will help them through the process and allow them to take part in activities
that matter to them.
Björquist, E., Nordmark E. & Hallström, I. (2014). Living in transition – experiences of health and
well-being and the needs of adolescents with cerebral palsy. Child: care, health and development, 41(2),
258–265
