Effectiveness of Mother as a Rehabilitative Aid (MARA) Program in the Recovery of Children with Cerebral Palsy-An Assessor blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Cerebral Palsy is a non-Progressive neuromotor disorder which leads to various impairments and disabilities. There are evidence based Paediatric Physiotherapy approaches for rehabilitating the same. In the recovery of the child literature suggests that home program plays a major role. Objectives; Till date there is a dearth in the literature which quantifies the home program. To provide Mother as a Rehabilitative Aid Program (MARA) to parents of children with cerebral palsy. To compare the effectiveness of MARA with traditional home program. Methodology: Mother as a Rehabilitative Aid (MARA) is a unique program which helps the mothers to be a part of rehabilitative team. It is a quantified tailor made treatment protocol to be effectively used by the mothers. The present study aims to see the effectiveness of MARA over traditional approaches for home program in children with spastic diplegic Cerebral palsy children of age 5 to 10 years. The study design is Assessor Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial. The study population divided into MARA group and Controlled group Results: MARA proved to be effective than traditional home program. T test was used in the statistical analysis. GMFM-88, PBS, Gait parameters all were statistically significant in MARA group than Control group. Discussion: This study is correlated with previous studies and found to give a clear explanation for parent oriented program with quantifiable outcome measures. Conclusion: It can be incorporated in the treatment of cerebral palsy children. Students Communication skills improved, Their Practical skills and service oriented mindset generated. They will get good ideas and can able to feel different problems that parents are facing and they got chance to plan their treatment accordingly. For Parents it generates hope and Trust on our profession. Their involvement will be more when their suffering is shared. Parents came to know different other challenges faced by other parents and they Got to know various other methods to overcome. This study leaves a benchmark for more high quality studies on MARA.