Can play-based therapy improve hand function in hemiplegia?

Effect of parent-delivered action observation therapy on upper limb function in unilateral cerebral palsy: a randomised controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN65947097

Enrollment

Registered

2011-01-24

Start date

2011-08-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2016-10-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Hemiplegic cerebral palsy Nervous System Diseases Cerebral palsy

Interventions

Carer-delivered home-based play therapy which will involve practice of useful hand and arm movements. Duration: 15 min/day, 5 days/week for 3 months. Both groups (active control and intervention grou

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Male and female children aged 3 - 10 years with hemiplegic cerebral palsy predominantly affecting arm and hand function.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Registered visually impaired 2. Inability or unwillingness to understand or attempt the tasks 3. No active grasp in the affected hand 4. Children who have had another intervention such as upper limb Botulinum toxin therapy or surgical intervention in the preceding 3 months and those who are planned to have such an intervention within the next 6 months and are unable to defer this until after the study

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Hand function measured using the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) score, at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. This is a 22 item Rasch-based test designed for children ages 18m-12 years with unilateral upper limb disability such as hemiplegia and assesses performance of the hemiplegic hand during bimanual activities within a semi-structured video recorded play session lasting 10-15 minutes. All 22 items are scored from 0 (does not do) to 4 (effective use).	—

Measure

Time frame

Hand function measured using the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) score, at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. This is a 22 item Rasch-based test designed for children ages 18m-12 years with unilateral upper limb disability such as hemiplegia and assesses performance of the hemiplegic hand during bimanual activities within a semi-structured video recorded play session lasting 10-15 minutes. All 22 items are scored from 0 (does not do) to 4 (effective use).

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Hand function measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months using: 1. Melbourne assessment of unilateral upper limb function. This is a capacity-based test for children with cerebral palsy, measuring many aspects of unimanual reaching, grasping and manipulation. The assessment is video recorded and takes around 15 minutes, with the score expressed as a percentage. 2. ABILHAND-Kids questionnaire. The 21 items reflect both unimanual and bimanual performance during daily activities. Completion is undertaken by the parents and takes around 10 minutes. 3. An adapted 9-hole pegboard test of manual dexterity 4. A brief test of movement planning, based on handle rotation, adapted from Mutsaarts et al. (2006)	—

Measure

Time frame

Hand function measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months using: 1. Melbourne assessment of unilateral upper limb function. This is a capacity-based test for children with cerebral palsy, measuring many aspects of unimanual reaching, grasping and manipulation. The assessment is video recorded and takes around 15 minutes, with the score expressed as a percentage. 2. ABILHAND-Kids questionnaire. The 21 items reflect both unimanual and bimanual performance during daily activities. Completion is undertaken by the parents and takes around 10 minutes. 3. An adapted 9-hole pegboard test of manual dexterity 4. A brief test of movement planning, based on handle rotation, adapted from Mutsaarts et al. (2006)

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Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026