In cooperation with the Holy Child Center, the Physiotherapy Program at the Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences organized a therapeutic week for the assessment and treatment of children with neurological conditions in Palestine.
The week included a two day workshop at Bethlehem University titled Assessment Tools and Outcome Measures for Pediatric Neurotherapy. Ms. Jane Freebody and Mr. Trever Hodkinson from The Bethlehem Project, a U.K. based charity with the purpose of bringing therapeutic and educational support to children with disabilities in the Middle East, led the workshop which was attended by second and fourth year physiotherapy students, fourth year occupational therapy students, fourth year students from nearby universities, and over thirty physiotherapy professionals in the pediatric care field from local organizations from several Palestinian cities including Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron, Jericho, and Jerusalem. The event was a success, with all those in attendance learning a great deal about physiotherapy for children to take back to their classrooms and organizations around the country.
For the rest of the week, Bethlehem University, in cooperation with the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Program and through the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation, organized home visits to villages near Bethlehem. Accompanied by a worker from the CBR Program, Ms. Freebody and Mr. Hodkinson were able to reach children with cerebral palsy in the Bethlehem area. The week also included visits to Al- Ihsan Charitable Society in Hebron and Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem.
