Disabled Village Children [Paperback]

David Werner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0942364066 | ISBN-13: 978-0942364064 | Publication Date: June 1, 1987 | Edition: 2nd

Disabled Village Children contains a wealth of clear and detailed information, as well as easy-to-implement strategies for all who are concerned about the well being of children with disabilities. This manual, written especially for those who live in communities with limited resources, explains how to create small community rehabilitation centers and workshops run by either disabled people or the families of children with disabilities. More than 4000 drawings and 200 photos make Disabled Village Children understandable to all.


Topics include the identification and management of common disabilities like polio, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, and juvenile arthritis; skills for daily living; brace- and limb-making; fun and useful therapy techniques; low-cost rehabilitation aids and adaptations for home and community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

At the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii, we use Disabled Village Children to teach teachers and family members how to support the related services needs of children with severe disabilities... The book works well for us because it supports simple English with wonderful drawings. Everyone whom we train speaks English as a second language, and everyone appreciates the pictures that illustrate the written concepts. The book clearly explains the most common disabilities and provides good examples of interventions that can be done using locally available materials. We have made wooden and PVC equipment adapted from designs in the book, and used many of the ideas in the book to support the needs of children on very remote islands. The ideas are creative and address basic needs of children with disabilities all over the world. --Katherine Ratliffe, PhD, PT. , Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaii

Disabled Village Children is not a book just for children, or just for use in villages, or only for the Third World. This book contains...many thought-provoking rehab ideas which run counter to the traditional Western rehab approach, yet which are eminently appropriate in many areas of the non-Western world. --Newsletter of the Cross-Cultural and International Physical Therapy Interest Group

Disabled Village Children is the benchmark manual on community-based rehabilitation... (Hesperian's) new series of books on early intervention for children with disabilities are beautiful as well as extremely useful. --US Agency for International Development

Product Details

• Paperback: 654 pages
• Publisher: Hesperian Foundation; 2nd edition (June 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942364066
• ISBN-13: 978-0942364064
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Werner was a co-founder of the Hesperian Foundation, and is currently co-founder and director of HealthWrights, and a visiting professor at Boston University International School of Public Health. A biologist and educator by training, he has worked as a health activist for the past 40 years in village health care, community-based rehabilitation, and "Child-to-Child" health initiatives in the Third World, mainly Mexico.

Werner has worked in more than 50 countries helping to facilitate health workshops and training programs, and has been a consultant for UNICEF, WHO, UNDP, and the Peace Corps. He has received awards and/or fellowships from the World Health Organization, the American Pediatric Association, the American Medical Writers Association, and the MacArthur Foundation.

Werner is co-author of the books Where There is No Doctor, Nothing About Us Without Us, Questioning the Solution, and several handbooks and papers on health topics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I used the book and found it to be very helpful to families., June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Disabled Village Children (Paperback)

As a former PCV in The West Indies, I used this book for ideas to share with families who had special needs children. It has many low cost alternatives to equipment that is often too costly for families without resources. The book also addresses the need for a handicapped child to do useful work in the family unit, something that is often forgotten. Self esteem can be taught if a child is given tasks, however small. I had to leave the book at the PeaceCorps Library when I left, and think that no Early Interventionist, OT or PT should be without a copy. A copy in Spanish and a copy in English would be a great asset.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful book for health care workers., March 11, 1999

By 

B. Alter (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Disabled Village Children (Paperback)

I'm a pediatric physical therapist who works with many people from Mexico and Latin American countries. This book (I often use the spanish version, also on Amazon.com) contains very useful information that I can share with families to help them better understand their disabled child's conditions. It has many creative methods of building equipment for little to no money that are important in our days of managed care.

There are some conditions, like polio, that are uncommon here in America. However, some of my imigrent families have children that have had polio. I used this book to make up for gaps in my own training. In fact, I've learned something useful from almost any page. This book belongs in the car of any therapist, (PT, OT) or person who works with disabled imigrent children. I highly reccomend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "a bible in rural india', October 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Disabled Village Children (Paperback)

I spoke with an Occupational therapist who says this book was like a bible to her when she did a fieldwork session in rural India~ It was highly recommended!