RETRAINING PROGRAM FOR A HEMIPLEGIC INFANT WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT - HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) UTILISING DRAMATIC PLAY AND PUPPETS: CASE STUDY

The present case study investigates the effect of a kinetic retraining intervention program in a hemiplegic infant aged 5 years and 3 months, based on the use of dramatic play and puppets. The infant that participated in the research had left hemiplegia due to cerebral palsy and exhibited attendant Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The research method used was a case-based clinical research method or case study for the systematic recording, study and evaluation of the various phases of the program.

We assumed that the everyday problems of the hemiplegic infant are complicated by the imperfect handling of body schema, which is caused by its hemiplegic state. Therefore, we considered that treatment methods, in combination with the systematic use of dramatic play and puppets, will help in the complete establishment of body schema, allowing the hemiplegic infant to use its hemiplegic limb more functionally in daily life activities at the end of the sessions.

The results of the intervention program showed that, at the end of the sessions, the infant increased the functionality of its hemiplegic limb and showed flexibility in the motor field, acquiring sufficiently adequate gross and fine motor skills. Furthermore, dramatisation through the use of puppets and dramatic play contributed to the assimilation of body image by the infant and the improvement of its spatiosomatic orientation. At the same time, it allowed the child to use body image to create internal mental representations using fiction, imagination and symbolisms.