Measuring Upper Extremity Activity of Children With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy Using Wrist-Worn Accelerometers: A Pilot Study.

IMPORTANCE: Children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) have poor strength and movement control on one side of their body, leading to impaired bimanual coordination skills. OBJECTIVE: To compare duration and intensity of all-day habitual movement of the dominant and nondominant upper extremities (UEs) in typically developing (TD) children and children with UCP. DESIGN: Two-group observational study. SETTING: Children's naturalistic settings. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 9 TD children and 9 children with UCP. INTERVENTION: Children wore accelerometers on both wrists all day and night for 1 wk. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: We compared the extent of asymmetry in bilateral arm use (intensity and duration) between the 2 groups. RESULTS: Compared with TD children who use both UEs equally, children with UCP were more likely to use their dominant or unaffected UE than their nondominant or affected UE during daily activities. There were no differences between groups in dominant UE activity. However, children with UCP engaged in lower levels of moderate to vigorous activity and greater levels of light activity with their nondominant or affected UE than their TD peers. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Wrist-worn accelerometry can provide objective information on real-world habitual activity with both arms in children. Accelerometers are nonintrusive, easy to use, and well tolerated by children, and they allow prolonged monitoring of UE activity outside therapeutic contexts. Occupational therapists can use wrist-worn accelerometers as sensitive tools to assess asymmetries in UE use at baseline and as an outcome measure to assess the efficacy of behavioral interventions and carryover into real-world settings among children with UCP. Plain-Language Summary: This pilot study provides promising evidence that supports the use of wrist-worn accelerometry as an accurate, easy-to-use, and objective assessment tool for children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) to detect asymmetries in bilateral real-world arm activity at baseline and after intensive occupational therapy interventions to improve arm function. The authors used wrist-worn accelerometry for one week with 9 typically developing (TD) children and 9 children with UCP to compare dominant or unaffected versus nondominant or affected upper extremity (UE) use for intensity and duration of activity. Compared with TD children, children with UCP had lower relative intensity of activity in the nondominant UE than the dominant UE. Wrist-worn accelerometers seem to be a sensitive measure to detect asymmetries in bilateral all-day UE use in children with UCP. The findings have implications for the use of wrist-worn accelerometers as an outcome measure to assess the efficacy of intensive therapies to improve real-world affected UE activity and bimanual function among children with UCP.

Outcomes Associated with a Single Joystick-Operated Ride-on-Toy Navigation Training Incorporated into a Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy Program: A Pilot Feasibility Study.

Our research aims to evaluate the utility of joystick-operated ride-on-toys (ROTs) as therapeutic adjuncts to improve upper extremity (UE) function in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP). This study assessed changes in affected UE use and function following a three-week ROT navigation training incorporated into an existing constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) camp in 11 children (3-14 years old) with HCP. We report changes in scores on the standardized Shriners Hospital Upper Extremity Evaluation (SHUEE) from pretest-to-posttest and changes from early-to-late sessions in percent time spent by the affected arm in: (a) "moderate-to-vigorous activity", "light activity" and "no activity" bouts based on accelerometer data and (b) "independent", "assisted", and "no activity" bouts based on video data. We also explored relationships between standardized measures and training-specific measures of affected UE activity. We found small-to-medium improvements in the SHUEE scores. Between 90 and 100% of children also showed medium-to-large improvements in affected UE activity from early-to-late sessions using accelerometers and small improvements via video-based assessments. Exploratory analyses suggested trends for relationships between pretest-posttest and training-specific objective and subjective measures of arm use and function. Our pilot data suggest that single joystick-operated ROTs may serve as motivating, child-friendly tools that can augment conventional therapies such as CIMT to boost treatment dosing, promote affected UE movement practice during real-world navigation tasks, and ultimately improve functional outcomes in children with HCP.

Feasibility of Using Joystick-Operated Ride-on-Toys to Promote Upper Extremity Function in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of implementation, acceptance, and perceived efficacy of a joystick-operated ride-on-toy intervention to promote upper extremity (UE) function in 3- to 14-year-old children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. METHODS: Exit questionnaires were collected from children, caregivers, and clinicians/camp staff following a 3-week ride-on-toy training program incorporated within a summer camp for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Training encouraged children to use their affected UE to maneuver the ride-on-toy. Questionnaires included Likert scale and open-ended questions to assess enjoyment, acceptance, feasibility, and perceived efficacy of the training. RESULTS: All stakeholder groups indicated that the training was enjoyable. Clinicians/staff and caregivers indicated that the training increased children's motivation to use their affected UE and reported perceived improvements in UE movement control and function following training. CONCLUSIONS: Our promising preliminary findings call for future research to systematically assess the efficacy of ride-on-toys to promote UE control and function in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy.Supplemental Digital Content 1 video abstract, available at: http://links.lww.com/PPT/A404.

Neural Effects of Physical Activity and Movement Interventions in Individuals With Developmental Disabilities-A Systematic Review.

Individuals with developmental disabilities present with perceptuo-motor, social communication, and cognitive impairments that often relate to underlying atypical brain structure and functioning. Physical activity/movement interventions improve behavioral performance of individuals with and without developmental disabilities. Majority of the evidence on potential neural mechanisms explaining the impact of physical activity/movement interventions is based on studies in individuals with typical development; there is a dearth of systematic reviews synthesizing the neural effects of physical activity/movement interventions in individuals with developmental disabilities. In this systematic review, we have gathered evidence on the neural effects of physical activity/movement interventions from 32 papers reporting substantial neural effects and behavioral improvements in individuals with developmental disabilities. Chronic intervention effects (multiple sessions) were greater than acute intervention effects (single session). Specifically, using electroencephalogram, functional magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, studies found physical activity/movement intervention-related changes in neural activity, indicating normalization of cortical arousal in individuals with attention-deficit /hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), increased social brain connectivity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and more efficient executive functioning processes in individuals with a wide range of other developmental disabilities. Despite promising results, more research is clearly needed in this area with larger sample sizes, using standardized neuroimaging tools/variables, and across multiple diagnoses to further explore the neural mechanisms underlying physical activity/movement interventions and to replicate findings from the present review.

Effects of Creative Movement Therapies on Social Communication, Behavioral-Affective, Sensorimotor, Cognitive, and Functional Participation Skills of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting multiple developmental domains including social communication, behavioral-affective, sensorimotor, and cognitive systems. There is growing evidence for the use of holistic, whole-body, Creative Movement Therapies (CMT) such as music, dance, yoga, theater, and martial arts in addressing the multisystem impairments in ASD. We conducted a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative review of the evidence to date on the effects of CMT on multiple systems in individuals with ASD. The strongest evidence, both in terms of quantity and quality, exists for music and martial arts-based interventions followed by yoga and theater, with very limited research on dance-based approaches. Our review of 72 studies (N = 1,939 participants) across participants with ASD ranging from 3 to 65 years of age suggests that at present there is consistent evidence from high quality studies for small-to-large sized improvements in social communication skills following music and martial arts therapies and medium-to-large improvements in motor and cognitive skills following yoga and martial arts training, with insufficient evidence to date for gains in affective, sensory, and functional participation domains following CMT. Although promising, our review serves as a call for more rigorous high-quality research to assess the multisystem effects of CMT in ASD. Based on the existing literature, we discuss implications of our findings for autism researchers and also provide evidence-based guidelines for clinicians to incorporate CMT approaches in their plan of care for individuals with ASD.