Upper Extremity Movement in Children with Cerebral Palsy

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Difficulty with hand function is one of the most debilitating impairments that children with CP face. Amount use in the affected upper extremity is mainly measured using a patient report, which is open to subjectivity. Research aims include: 1) using accelerometers to obtain quantitative measures of changes in amount of arm use in following CIT, 2) comparing measures taken in the real world setting versus those obtained in the lab setting, 3) obtaining kinetic measures of lifting objects of varying weights under the task constraint of time in children with CP. Dependent measures include: 1) comparisons of summed filtered counts of both arms, 2) ratio of filtered counts of both arms, 3) percent of transformed counts over time, 4) grip force during object lifts, and 5) load force during lifting objects. This research may elucidate ways to increase independence in children with CP.