Activity limitation in hemiplegic cerebral palsy: evidence for disorders in motor planning

Review of the definition of cerebral palsy (CP) has focused on disorders of movement and posture development that cause activity limitations. Recent research provides new insights into CP, showing that activity limitation in individuals with hemiplegic CP is not exclusively caused by disorders related to movement execution, but is also related to the planning of movements. In this review article, converging evidence is presented suggesting that, in addition to movement execution impairments, impairments in movement planning may also limit the performance of activities of daily living. Evidence from studies of fingertip-force planning and anticipatory planning in object manipulation tasks is discussed.