Assistive Device Utilization And Quality-of-Life in Adults With Spinal Cord Injuries or Cerebral Palsy

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Abstract
A preliminary assessment of assistive device (AD) utilization by adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and spinal cord injuries (SCI) was conducted during the winter, 1986. A qualitative research approach was selected over a quantitative one so that pre-selected themes would not be imposed upon the data but, rather, would emerge from the data obtained. Five males with SCI and five females with CP, all subjects having a four-quadrant involvement, were interviewed about their AD use and quality-of-life. The findings indicate that female AD users with CP emphasize the capability to do things for the first time in their lives because of their ADs. They speak in terms of gains. In contrast, male AD non-users with SCI interpret ADs as poor replacements for their own functioning and see them as reminders of loss. AD users of both disabilities see their quality-of-life as being within their control whereas non-users believe otherwise. It was concluded that increased functional capabilities gained through AD utilization and the attainment of a “normalized” quality-of-life may present users with generalized “high functioning” expectations and frustrations for which their prior socialization did not prepare them. This, coupled with little peer contact, was discussed as contributing to participants' feelings of nervousness, depression, emotional inhibition and a sense of identity confusion.

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