Doing “more of the same harder” is unlikely to produce significant change. Why not try something new this summer? Traditionally, most doctors and therapists have focused their work on the […]
Cerebral Palsy: The Timing of Damage is Important
Roughly 50% of children with CP have a defined perinatal risk factor and roughly 40% of the total number have Hemiplegia.1 Children with hemiplegia have damage on one side of […]
When Does Treatment Stop Being Research?
This is a critical question for the parents of any child with cerebral palsy or any other early neurologic injury. Why? “It is a research intervention, not covered by your […]
What Were You Told About Cerebral Palsy?
Parents of babies treated in a NICU learn that their baby has a “Brain Problem” earlier than many others who only realize that there is a problem when their child […]
Neuroplasticity and Hands II: Awareness Precedes Activation
Once the wrist and hand is either able to maintain alignment or is supported in alignment, the next step is to increase the child’s awareness of the hand. This girl […]
Neuroplasticity and Hands: Doing The Right Thing, At The Right Time, and In The Right Order
Last week I wrote about Constraint Induced Movement Therapy or CIMT. This photo from the Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association (www.chasa.org) is the best example that I have seen. The […]
Trunk Support Changes Tone
Once they can be put in the upright position, trunk support is the first requirement. The difference in function with the addition of adequate trunk support is obvious. Just as […]
More On Trunk Support Changes Tone
In the bad old days, a child with cerebral palsy who attained any level of independent function was considered “Good Enough”. Fortunately, times have changed and the standards must be […]
The Early Signs of “Activity Dependent Tone”
This baby has difficulty lifting her hand. When she tries, she turns on all her muscles causing her hand to fist, the elbow to flex and the shoulder to lift […]
3 Steps To Hand Use: Alignment, Awareness and Activation
Babies first explore their hands with their mouth, gradually using them to explore and reach by 3-6 months. Yet even at the stage of independent sitting, a baby can still […]