August 29, 2013

Robert Palisano, ScD, Lisa Chiarello, PhD, and Margo Orlin, PhD, co-authored articles published in the Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology Journal that were the 6^th and 21^st most cited in the year 2012. The two studies describe the participation of children with cerebral palsy as it is defined by the World Health Organization, and discuss a model to help understand how factors about the child, their family and the environments in which they live optimize or contribute to increased or improved participation.

According to Palisano, participation is a construct that has only emerged in the past decade. Prior to that, the focus of a lot of the child interventions was on the problems directly associated with having cerebral palsy. “Participation of children in family, school, and community is the ultimate goal of rehabilitation,” Chiarello said.

The type of research that Palisano, Chiarello and Orlin conducted, which involved over 600 participants, was some of the first of its kind. The number of times that these two articles were cited in 2012 is important for journals because that is how the impact factor of the journal is determined. Chiarello said, “I am striving to leave a meaningful mark on the field of pediatric rehabilitation, a mark that acknowledges the value of the art and science of pediatric physical therapy and community-based service to promote children’s participation in their daily life and support families in their role in caring for and nurturing their children.”

 “Participation in home, extracurricular, and community activities among children and young people with cerebral palsy” was published in 2010 and “Determinants of intensity of participation in leisure and recreational activities by children with cerebral palsy” was published in 2011.