Background: To investigate the safety and feasibility of six sessions of Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) integrated into an inpatient therapy concept and their influence on walking speed and gait parameters in adult CP patients. Methods: Eleven subjects (male = 8, female = 3, mean age: 23 years and 2 months, ± 4.5…

Purpose: Dysarthria is common among children with cerebral palsy (CP) and results in poor speech intelligibility and subsequently low communicative participation. Neuroplasticity evidence suggests that adherence to principles of motor learning (PML) improves motor speech intervention outcomes. Motor speech interventions aim to improve speech…

Preschool children with cerebral palsy (CP) with no or unintelligible speech need augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), but not all children needing AAC have access to it. This study describes the use and perceived benefit of AAC and explores factors associated with receiving AAC interventions. Using a cross-sectional design, we…

The purpose of this case study was to explore the communication needs of a child with deafness and cerebral palsy (DCP) and how these needs can be supported by interventions targeting the use of communication approaches and strategies. One semi-structured interview with the child's parents and five observations of the child in different contexts…

In this article, the authors identify possible indicators of cerebral visual impairments (CVI) in young children. Noticing the signs of cerebral visual impairment can assist occupational therapists in the early detection and therapy planning for preschoolers in early intervention programs. Several instructional models are described to meet the…

Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Virtual reality training on dynamic balance of children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (SHCP). Methods: 20 girls with SHCP (mean age = 9.4; SD =1.48) were selected from special schools and divided into the experimental and control groups. Commercially available Kinect dance…

This research examined an evidence based dialogic shared reading strategy which incorporated aided language modelling and increased communication partner responsiveness with two children with complex physical, cognitive, and sensory needs (CPCSN) who use auditory plus visual partner assisted scanning (PAS) to access a Pragmatic Organised Dynamic…

Purpose: This study examined the effects of Speech Intelligibility Treatment (SIT) on intelligibility and naturalness of narrative speech produced by francophone children with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy. Method: Ten francophone children with dysarthria were randomized to one of two treatments, SIT or Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy…

Background: Accurate and meaningful assessment of language and communication skills to monitor child progress is the cornerstone to appropriate intervention for children with complex communication needs (CCN; Brady et al., 2016; Rowland et al., 2012). Despite this need, there is a lack of high quality and validated measurement of young children…

A growing literature highlights the need to develop communication partner-based interventions for individuals with dysarthria. Identifying listener characteristics that facilitate speech understanding is a necessary step in designing communication partner interventions. Musicianship enhances speech understanding in adverse listening conditions…

Therapies for children with cerebral palsy (CP) often fail to address essential components of early rehabilitation: intensity, child initiation, and an embodied approach. Sitting Together And Reaching To Play (START-Play) addresses these issues while incorporating intensive family involvement to maximize therapeutic dosage. While START-Play was…

Purpose: Children with dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy may experience reduced speech intelligibility and diminished communicative participation. However, minimal research has been conducted examining the outcomes of behavioral speech treatments in this population. This study examined the effect of Speech Intelligibility Treatment (SIT), a…

Aim: The present study aimed to examine the effect of mothering handling training (mothers learn to provide caring in the more right manner) at home on the motor functions of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: In this single-blind randomized control trial study, 40 children with CP (6-72 months old) were recruited from rehabilitative…

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to examine different speech profiles among children with dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy (CP) and to characterize the effect of different speech profiles on intelligibility. Method: Twenty 5-year-old children with dysarthria secondary to CP and 20 typically developing children were included in this…

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common movement disorder of childhood. Parents recognized the symptoms of CP at mean age of 13 months. However there was a mean delay of going to a doctor by 23 months and the mean age of diagnosis was 5.5 years. Less than half of the CP children were diagnosed by a pediatrician and were receiving treatment methods…