Sensor game rehabilitation for children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities-medical care dependent group:
Hiroki Annaka1,2,3, Tsukasa Murakami1, Takeshi Saitou2,3
1Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan.
Introduction:
Rehabilitation for children with motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID)-medical care-dependent group (MCDG) and sub-SMID-MCDG primarily focuses on preventing deterioration and maintaining function. Rehabilitation approaches aimed at functional improvement have not yet been fully established. This study explored the feasibility of rehabilitation using sensor games for functional improvement in and sub-SMID-MCDG.
Methods:
This study implemented a 15-minute, once-per-week, sensor game rehabilitation program for 4 weeks. The subjects were four children with SMID-MCDG or sub-SMID-MCDG attending an after-school day service and their parents. The primary outcomes were safety of the intervention and parental feedback regarding the intervention. As secondary outcomes, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders, an assessment of motor function in children; the KIDSCREEN-10 parent version, an assessment of children's quality of life; and the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) were assessed pre- and post-intervention.
Results:
The 4-week sensor game rehabilitation program was safely administered to all patients. The results of the qualitative content analysis revealed that this intervention provided benefits to both children with SMID-MCDG or sub-SMID-MCDG and their parents owing to the game's high usability.
Conclusion:
The feasibility of sensor game rehabilitation verified in this study showed its potential to be safe and beneficial for children with SMID-MCDG or sub-SMID-MCDG and their parents. To generalize the findings of this study, further research is required to verify the effects of sensor game rehabilitation, particularly during use at home.
Study Registration:
The study protocol was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network Center UMIN000055498.
