Purpose: We conducted a survey regarding the after-school childcare acceptance rate of
elementary school students with developmental disabilities and the support needs of
occupational therapists who could serve them.
Material and Methods: Subjects comprised 255 after-school childcare facilities in the
Miyagi prefecture, including disaster areas following the 2011 earthquake that occurred off
the Pacific coast of Tohoku. Of these, 153 facilities (60%) responded. Numerical data are
presented using descriptive statistics. We used a text mining approach for free description.
This study was supported by the Welfare and Medical Service Network System. The author
declares no conflicts of interest.
Results: There were 8,782 enrolled subjects( age, 7–12). Of these, 309( 3.5%) subjects had
diagnosed developmental disabilities. On an average, there were 2.0 students with
developmental disabilities per facility. Breakdown by diagnosis revealed the following:
physical disability (0.7%), mental retardation (0.6%), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
(1.3%), learning disorder( 0.2%), Autism spectrum disorder( 0.7%), and disaster-related posttraumatic
stress disorder (0.01%). In tsunami disaster areas, students had developmental
disabilities is a closely identical rate compared with that of inland areas. Approximately, 23%
of the after-school childcare facilities had care workers trained in disability care procedures,
51% provided consultation services, 21% provided on-site guidance, and 72% had need for
occupational therapy support.
Conclusion: Our results suggested a clear need for occupational therapy support services
within after-school childcare facilities in the Miyagi prefecture.
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