Okenwa & Edeh, 1970 Enugu, Nigeria | To record the experience of physiotherapy management of children with cerebral palsy | Retrospective study | The clinical records of children with cerebral palsy who visited the physiotherapy clinic of a tertiary hospital in Enugu between 2009 and 2015 were recovered and studied in retrospect. | Cerebral palsy patients in the tertiary hospital, Enugu, Nigeria | 146 cases of cerebral palsy were recorded out of 483 children seen for the period. Commonly used modalities were NDT, TENS, and Passive and active exercise models. There was no consistency in follow-up treatment by patients. | There is a high level of abandonment and lack of use of up-to-date physiotherapy modalities. |
Sunday-Kanu, 2023, Rivers State, Nigeria | To examine the possibility of using Nigerian folk music in the rehabilitation of children with speech-language disorders. | Observational studies | Data were gathered via interviews, participants, observational methods, and a review of archival materials | Participants were children with speech-language disorders in Nigerian communities. | Music in the Nigerian community does not just encourage bonding but serves as a therapeutic intervention tool to help vocalization and the child’s well-being emotionally and physically. | Folk music goes beyond songs and play. It is a major factor in speech and language development and mastery. |
Bakare & Munir, 2011 Nigeria | To study the occurrence of ASD in Africa. | A prospective study | Literature over the past 10 years in Pubmed on the different aspects of ASD in the African context was assessed. | Africa | There is no study specifically on the epidemiology of ASD in Africa. | There is a need for epidemiological studies on ASD in Africa. |
Lagunju, Bella-Awusah, & Omigbodun, 2014, Ibadan, Nigeria | To describe the ASD profile among a cohort of Nigerian children at a tertiary hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. | A Cohort study | Children seen at the hospital’s paediatric neurology and child psychiatry clinic were screened for ASD. | Children seen at the hospital’s paediatric neurology and child psychiatry clinic | There is a higher prevalence amongst males than females and ASD accounts for 2.3% of 2320 new cases assessed in the period of study. | ASD is not uncommon in Nigeria and has a high rate of non-verbal cases. There is a need for public awareness of ASD. |
Nottidge & Okogbo, 1991 Ibadan, Nigeria | To report a 15-year experience with cerebral palsy in the clinic. | A prospective study | The wholistic history of each cerebral palsy child was given by both parents. | All patients were diagnosed with CP in the Child Neurology Clinic between 1980 and 1983. | 16.2% of new referrals were for CP of which 63% of these were of preventable causes like shortage in personnel and insufficient funds for effective rehabilitation services. | Training and employment of more physiotherapists and nurses with intensive health education is highly recommended. |
Springer, Van Toorn, Laughton, & Kidd, 2013 South Africa | To describe in detail the causes in children diagnosed with PDD. | A Descriptive Retrospective Study | Medical records of children who have fulfilled DSM-IV-TR criteria for a PDD and had attended Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape, South Africa between 2008–2010. | Children who have fulfilled DSM-IV-TR criteria for a PDD and had attended Tygerberg Hospital, Western Cape, South Africa between 2008–2010. | 40% of the participants had complex autism. 12.1% had macroencephaly. 72.4% were non-verbal. 89% had behavioural problems. | There is a high proportion of children with complex autism, severe language impairment, and behavioural problems. |
Saloojee et al., 2021 Uganda | To carefully examine the Akwenda CP programme. | A quasi-randomised controlled study | Children and youth aged 2–23 years will be put into two different groups – the intervention arm and the usual care group. | Children and youth aged 2–23 years in a Ugandan rural area. | The majority of the participants have not had access to early intervention or even regular therapy. | Information from this study will bring enlightenment to the possibility of positive change in youths who did not receive or received just a little intervention early. |
Samia et al., 2020, Kenya | To describe the clinical features of children with ASD within the African context. | A Cohort Study | A medical chart review of children diagnosed between 2011–2016 was used. | Children diagnosed with ASD according to DSM-5 criteria | Age 3 is the median for presentation with speech delay as the common reason. Expressive language delay was observed in 90% of the participants. | An observation of early median age and dominance of the male gender was made and ascribed to a lack of awareness and associated stigma are factors affecting therapy. |
Abd El-Kafy, 2014, Cairo, Egypt | To evaluate the effectiveness of AFO and strapping system in gait improvement in CP. | Three-armed Randomised Control Trial | The participants were grouped into three and given varying treatments ranging from traditional NDT, AFO, and the TheraTogs™ strapping system. | 57 children aged 6–8 years of both gender with spastic diplegic CP. | There is a significant difference in the three groups in gait, speed, cadence, and stride length after the treatment. | An orthotic intervention consisting of AFO and the strapping system proves to be more effective in gait improvement than the conventional NDT even with the strapping system. |
Aina, Ogun, Ladapo, Lesi, & Famuyiwa, 2008 Lagos, Nigeria | To identify the different types of developmental disorders and associated neuropsychiatric complications. | A Prospective Study | The participants' details were obtained as well as their clinical diagnoses via clinical evaluation. | Children aged 15 or less diagnosed with developmental disorders. | 55% of the participants had mixed-specific developmental disorders. 34.2% had specific speech and language disorders. 36.9% suffered one or two complications, mostly seizures. | In addition to DDs, the participants also suffered other complications such as seizures, and hyperactivity. A significant number had EEG abnormalities. |
Yetunde Celia Adeniyi & Adeniyi, 2020, Nigeria | To assess the services of a one-stop centre for developmental disorders. | Project Evaluation | The children were assessed via both structured and unstructured interviews. | 584 children with different DDs. | 32.4% were diagnosed with ASD. 29.1% had intellectual disability. 27.6% had CP. 10.9% had other types of DDs. | The Centre has been serving the people well and hopes to expand to other regions. |
Wannenburg & Niekerk, 2018, South Africa | To create awareness about ASD in Africa and recommend a dialogue on possible interventions. | A Qualitative Mixed Method Case Study | Literature regarding ASD in Africa was reviewed to find a context for the research and facilitate data reduction for the subject of the case study, Temple Grandlin. | Temple Grandlin | Speech therapy, creative endeavours, human-animal interaction, and being mentored were found to be of importance in the facilitation of development in an individual with ASD. | Leaving ASD undiagnosed and untreated can put avoidable psychosocial and economic stress on the immediate environment. Including ASD in health policies is very essential. |
Maharaj, White, & Kaka, 2021, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | To ascertain the current physiotherapy management for children with CP in KZN public hospitals. | Cross-Sectional Study | | | 48.6% of the participants treated 1 to 10 CP children monthly. 34.7% used outcome measures to evaluate their treatment. Common interventions used were postural stabilizing activities, respiratory care, and positioning. | The overall management of children with CP was holistic and favourable despite the challenges faced by the physiotherapists. A common intervention was postural stabilization. |
Levin, 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa | To provide an overview of some of the important factors that affect people with CP and their families. | An Overview Article | | | | The study of CP should be context-specific. |
Bunning, Gona, Buell, Newton, & Hartley, 2013, Kenya | To examine the communication practices used by rehabilitation professionals to assist children with complex communication needs in Kenyan rural regions. | A descriptive study | Naturalistic observation and applied linguistic analysis. | School for deaf children and the district general hospital’s Department of Occupational Therapy | Partnership type A dyads revealed a fairly even turn distribution between teacher and child. Partnership type B dyads showed an inclination towards domination of turns by adults. | Children with complex communication needs performed sub-optimally as a result of teachers and occupational therapists taking speech and language therapy sessions. |
El Khatib, El Tekeya, El Tantawi, & Omar, 2014, Alexandria, Egypt | To find out the status of the oral hygiene and behaviours of children with ASD. | A Case-Control Study | Data will be collected via questionnaire and clinical examination of 200 children in two groups of ASD children and healthy children. | 100 ASD and 100 healthy children from Alexandria, Egypt. | The ASD children had poorer oral hygiene and more difficulty in accessing dental care than the healthy children. More ASD children behaved badly and in self-injurious behaviour than healthy ones. | ASD children with an oral condition run a risk of developing dental disease. Their behaviours can complicate access to services and dental care. |
Olaleye, Hamzat, & Oloso, 2015, Ibadan, Nigeria | To explore the perception of the Quality of Physiotherapy for CP children. | A Cross-Sectional Survey | Data will be collected among informal caregivers of CP children from two different healthcare facilities using the SERVQUAL instrument. | Informal caregivers who had a CP child who had received physiotherapy for a minimum of 6 months. | 81.13% of the caregivers had a poor perception of the quality of physiotherapy service for CP children. | There should be improved care for CP children. |
Arinda, Nakasujja, & Odokonyero, 2021, Uganda | To find out the prevalence and factors connected to ASD symptoms amongst children attending a paediatric neurology clinic at a tertiary hospital in Uganda. | A Cross-Sectional Study | The children’s caregivers were given a socio-demographic questionnaire and a Social Communication questionnaire. | 318 children between the ages of 2–9 (and their caregivers) attending a paediatric neurology clinic at a tertiary hospital in Uganda. | The prevalence was found to be at 45%. Negatively associated factors were the female sex and speech ability. A positively associated factor is a history of developmental milestone delay. | There is a high prevalence of ASD symptoms in children with neurological disorders. There should be routine ASD screening for children, especially those with developmental milestone delay |
Audu & Daly, 2017, Michigan, USA | To describe the effect of an 8-week standing programme on the motor function of a child with severe CP in West Africa. | A Case Study | A locally constructed standing frame was used for the standing programme 5 times per week for 8 weeks. | An 18-month-old female child was diagnosed with Ischaemic-Hypoxic Encephalopathy shortly after birth and with CP at 12 months. | There was an improvement in the GMFM-66 scores from 28 at baseline to 37.4 in 8 weeks. | The home-based standing programme might have played a role in improving the child’s motor function. Further research should be done to determine the effectiveness of this intervention. |