A pilot study on the impact of occupational therapy home programming for young children with cerebral palsy

Occupational therapy home programs are a common approach used to provide interventions for children with cerebral palsy, but there is little evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of such programs. This single-group pretest-posttest design pilot study evaluated the impact of an occupational therapy home program implemented with 20 children who had spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy (ages 2-7 years, mean 3.8). We measured impact using Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), and the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST). We measured participation amount through a parent self-report log. Significant changes following intervention occured in scores on the GAS, the PEDI Functional Skills and Caregiver Assistance Scales, and the QUEST, but has found no relationship between participation amount and outcome using the same measures. These promising results suggest that further investigation of the impact of occupational therapy home programs is warranted.