Date of Completion

Spring 5-1-2026

Thesis Advisor(s)

Sudha Srinivasan

Honors Major

Allied Health Sciences

Disciplines

Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities | Kinesiotherapy | Movement and Mind-Body Therapies | Musculoskeletal System | Nervous System Diseases | Neurology | Occupational Therapy | Other Medical Specialties | Other Rehabilitation and Therapy | Pediatrics | Physical Therapy | Physiotherapy | Recreational Therapy | Therapeutics

Abstract

Hemiplegia, or paralysis of one side of the body, is the primary symptom of unilateral cerebral palsy, a subtype of cerebral palsy, the most common movement disorder in children. Standard of care is regular physical and occupational therapy to improve performance in bimanual activities, but conventional therapy can be expensive and draining for caregivers and children, so a need exists for a novel intervention that can take place at home and that is economical for families while being engaging for children. This thesis reports data from a subset of ten children seen as part of a randomized controlled clinical trial involving children with hemiplegia from the ages of three to eight years. Children received either a ride-on toy-based therapeutic intervention called SPEED or an intervention based on conventional occupational therapy called CRAFT. The thesis reports on the effect of both interventions on upper extremity motor function and usage. Children were randomly assigned to the SPEED or CRAFT groups. The SPEED group engaged in motorized ride-on toy-based navigational training with associated bimanual tasks and games, and the CRAFT group engaged in activities rooted in standard occupational therapy. Both groups underwent regular sessions of therapy at home with both researchers and caregivers (6 weeks of training, 4 sessions/week, 30-45 minutes/session). Upper extremity function was assessed before, immediately after, and one month after the study using the Shriners Hospital Upper Extremity Evaluation. The experimental group showed improvements in spontaneous independent usage of the affected upper extremity comparable to the control group while requiring less prompting to independently complete tasks. This study supports the usage of motorized ride-on toy-based therapy as a cheaper, more entertaining choice for children with UCP.

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