Q.Discuss the role of physiotherapist in integrated education.

A physiotherapist is probably the best-known of the therapists who work with Children with Special Needs (CWSN). Their core tool is exercise: structured physical activity used to help a child gain and keep the best possible use of their body, improve breathing, prevent the development of deformities, and slow down deterioration caused by progressive diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

A physiotherapist's assessment looks closely at bodily movement — physical mobility, balance, posture, fatigue and pain — before designing an intervention. From this assessment, their day-to-day role covers several linked tasks: assessing the mechanics of the body; improving mobility in terms of joint movement and both gross motor movement (large movements like walking or jumping) and fine motor movement (small, precise movements); managing children and young people who have movement disorders and disability; and maintaining and conditioning bones, joints and muscles to prevent further degeneration.

Rehabilitation itself is delivered through a range of specific therapies: massage and manipulation, exercise and movement therapy, electrotherapy (using electrical stimulation to aid muscle/nerve function), cryotherapy (cold therapy) and hydrotherapy (water-based exercise, which reduces the load on joints while still building strength).

Taken together, the physiotherapist's aim is to help a CWSN reach their full physical potential through physical intervention, advice and support — distinct from the Occupational Therapist's focus on daily-living and fine-motor self-care skills, and from the Physical Education Teacher's focus on sport-specific participation.