Change in basic motor abilities, quality of movement and everyday activities following intensive, goal-directed, activity-focused physiotherapy in a group setting for children with cerebral palsy

Background: The effects of intensive training for children with cerebral palsy (CP) remain uncertain. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact on motor function, quality of movements and everyday activities of three hours of goal-directed activity-focused physiotherapy in a group setting, five days a week for a period of three weeks. Methods: A repeated measures design was applied with three baseline and two follow up assessments; immediately and three weeks after intervention. Twenty-two children with hemiplegia (n = 7), diplegia (n = 11), quadriplegia (n = 2) and ataxia (n = 2) participated, age ranging 3-9 y. All levels of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) were represented. Parents and professionals participated in goal setting and training. ANOVA was used to analyse change over repeated measures. Results: A main effect of time was shown in the primary outcome measure; Gross Motor Function Measure-66 (GMFM- 66), mean change being 4.5 (p < 0.01) from last baseline to last follow up assessment. An interaction between time and GMFCS-levels was found, implying that children classified to GMFCS-levels I-II improved more than children classified to levels III-V. There were no main or interaction effects of age or anti-spastic medication. Change scores in the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) ranged 2.0-6.7, p < 0.01 in the Self-care domain of the Functional Skills dimension, and the Self-care and Mobility domains of the Caregiver Assistance dimension. The children's individual goals were on average attained, Mean Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) T-score being 51.3. Non-significant improved scores on the Gross Motor Performance Measure (GMPM) and the Quality of Upper Extremities Skills Test (QUEST) were demonstrated. Significant improvement in GMPM scores were found in improved items of the GMFM, not in items that maintained the same score. Conclusions: Basic motor abilities and self-care improved in young children with CP after goal-directed activityfocused physiotherapy with involvement of their local environment, and their need for caregiver assistance in self-care and mobility decreased. The individualized training within a group context during a limited period of time was feasible and well-tolerated. The coherence between acquisition of basic motor abilities and quality of movement should be further examined

Physiotherapists' experiences of physiotherapy interventions in scientific physiotherapy publications focusing on interventions for children with cerebral palsy: a qualitative phenomenographic approach

Background: Physiotherapy research concerning interventions for children with CP is often focused on collecting evidence of the superiority of particular therapeutic methods or treatment modalities. Articulating and documenting the use of theory, instrumentation and research design and the assumptions underlying physiotherapy research interventions are important. Physiotherapy interventions focusing on children with Cerebral Palsy should, according to the literature, be based on a functional and environmental perspective with task-specific functional activity, motor learning processes and Family-Centred Service i.e. to enhance motor ability and improve capacity so that the child can perform the tasks necessary to participate actively in everyday life. Thus, it is important to coordinate the norms and values of the physiotherapist with those of the family and child. The aim of this study was to describe how physiotherapists' experiences physiotherapy interventions for children with CP in scientific physiotherapy publications written by physiotherapists. Methods: A qualitative phenomenographic approach was used. Twenty-one scientific articles, found in PubMed, strategically chosen according to year of publication (2001-2009), modality, journals and country, were investigated. Results: Three qualitatively different descriptive categories were identified: A: Making it possible a functional-based intervention based on the biopsychosocial health paradigm, and the role of the physiotherapist as collaborative, interacting with the child and family in goal setting, intervention planning and evaluation, B: Making it work an impairment-based intervention built on a mixed health paradigm (biomedical and biopsychosocial), and the role of the physiotherapist as a coach, leading the goal setting, intervention planning and evaluation and instructing family members to carry out physiotherapist directed orders, and; C: Making it normal an impairment-based intervention built on a biomedical health paradigm, and the role of the physiotherapist as an authoritative expert who determine goals, intervention planning and evaluation. Conclusions: Different paradigms of health and disability lead to different approaches to physiotherapy which influence the whole intervention process regarding strategies for the assessment and treatment, all of which influence Family-Centred Service and the child's motor learning strategies. The results may deepen physiotherapists' understanding of how different paradigms of health influence the way in which various physiotherapy approaches in research seek to solve the challenge of CP

Reliability and sources of variation of the ABILHAND-Kids questionnaire in children with cerebral palsy

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group Purpose: To determine reliability of the ABILHAND-Kids, explore sources of variation associated with these measurement results, and generate repeatability coefficients. Method: A reliability study with a repeated measures design was performed in an ambulatory rehabilitation care department from a rehabilitation center, and a center for special education. A physician, an occupational therapist, and parents of 27 children with spastic cerebral palsy independently rated the children’s manual capacity when performing 21 standardized tasks of the ABILHAND-Kids from video recordings twice with a three week time interval (27 first-, and 25?second video recordings available). Parents additionally rated their children’s performance based on their own perception of their child's ability to perform manual activities in everyday life, resulting in eight ratings per child. Results: ABILHAND-Kids ratings were systematically different between observers, sessions, and rating method. Participant?×?observer interaction (66%) and residual variance (20%) contributed the most to error variance (9%). Test–retest reliability was 0.92. Repeatability coefficients (between 0.81 and 1.82 logit points) were largest for the parents’ performance-based ratings. Conclusion: ABILHAND-Kids scores can be reliably used as a performance- and capacity-based rating method across different raters. Parents’ performance-based ratings are less reliable than their capacity-based ratings. Resulting repeatability coefficients can be used to interpret ABILHAND-Kids ratings with more confidence.Implications for RehabilitationThe ABILHAND-Kids is a valuable tool to assess a child?s unimanual and bimanual upper limb activities.The reliability of the ABILHANDS-Kids is good across different observers as a performance- and capacity-based rating method.Parents' performance-based ratings are less reliable than their capacity-based ones.This study has generated repeatability coefficients for clinical decision making

Análise das intervenções de terapia ocupacional no desempenho das atividades de vida diária em crianças com paralisia cerebral: uma revisão sistemática da literatura Analysis of occupational therapy interventions in the performance of everyday activities in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review of the literature

OBJETIVOS: avaliar, através da seleção e análise criteriosa de artigos, os efeitos das intervenções voltadas para a promoção do desempenho de atividades de vida diária, utilizadas por terapeutas ocupacionais, em crianças com paralisia cerebral. MÉTODOS: a busca na literatura foi realizada nas bases eletrônicas: Ovid, Medline, CINAHL e Lilacs, incluindo artigos publicados entre janeiro de 2001 e maio de 2006, nos idiomas inglês e português, utilizando os seguintes descritores: "terapia ocupacional", "paralisia cerebral" e "criança". Foram selecionados quatro estudos, seguindo critérios de inclusão pré-definidos, avaliados quanto à qualidade metodológica com a escala OTSeeker. RESULTADOS: a análise da qualidade metodológica dos estudos selecionados revelaram pontuações de magnitudes baixa à moderada na escala OTSeeker. Foram encontradas diferenças quanto ao tipo de intervenção utilizada para a promoção das atividades de vida diária, bem como dos desfechos investigados. CONCLUSÕES: a análise crítica dos artigos sugere que o contexto no qual a criança com paralisia cerebral está inserida parece ser um fator importante no seu desempenho funcional. A avaliação sistemática da literatura sobre os efeitos de intervenções de Terapia Ocupacional na promoção de atividades de vida diária em crianças com paralisia cerebral poderá contribuir para uma prática baseada em evidências, entre esses profissionais.<br>OBJECTIVES: to evaluate, by means of a careful search for and analysis of articles, the effects of interventions used by occupational therapists to improve the performance of everyday activities in children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: the search for literature on the subject was conducted using the electronic databases Ovid, Medline, CINAHL and LILACS, and covered articles published between January 2001 and May 2006, in English or Portuguese, using the following keywords: "occupational therapy", "cerebral palsy", and "child". Four studies were selected, according to previously determined inclusion criteria, and these were evaluated for their methodological quality using the OTSeeker scale. RESULTS: the analysis of the methodological quality of the selected studies revealed scores from low to moderate on the OTSeeker scale. There were differences in relation to the type of intervention used to promote everyday activities, and regarding the outcomes that were investigated. CONCLUSIONS: the context in which the child with cerebral palsy is living seems to be an important factor in his/her functional performance. The systematic evaluation of the literature on the effects of Occupational Therapy interventions in promoting everyday activities in children with cerebral palsy may contribute to evidence-based practices among these health professionals

Preliminary reliability and validity of a battery for assessing functional skills in children with Sturge-Weber syndrome

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate inter-rater reliability and validity of a proposed functional outcome battery for clinical trials in children with Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS). METHODS: 10 children were evaluated twice on the same day using a series of functional outcome measures selected for sensitivity to the range of age and function of children with SWS: Modified Rankin Scale, Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Index, Modified House Functional Classification, and a modified version of the Erhardt Developmental Prehension Assessment. Inter-rater reliability was calculated, and criterion validity was explored through correlations with the Sturge-Weber Syndrome-Neurological Rating Score (SWS-NRS). RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability was high across all measures. Correlations were identified between the SWS-NRS and the study measures. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed battery of functional outcome measures captures child’s functioning at the levels of impairment, activity and participation and is robust to evaluation by different raters and across sessions on the same day. This battery is expected to be sensitive to treatment-related changes in qualitative patterns of hand use, functional skills, and/or change in independence in daily living