Purpose: To explore the child- and parent-related effects of home-based bimanual training in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.Methods: Case series of 14 children (2-7 years) who completed goal-oriented task-specific training for 3.5 hours/week for 12 weeks by a program adopting implicit (n = 5) or explicit (n = 9) motor learning. A therapist and remedial educationalist coached parents. Progression on bimanual goals (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)) and therapy-related parental stress (interviews) were of primary interest. Data were collected at baseline (T0), halfway through and at the end of training (T1 and T2), and after 12 weeks (T3).Results: On the COPM performance scale a clinically relevant change was seen in 50% (7/14), 86% (12/14), and 85% (11/13) of the children, at T1, T2, and T3, respectively. Some parents indicated that they had experienced stress because of the training intensity.Conclusion: The child- and parent-related effects of the home-based bimanual training programs are encouraging.
Keywords: Cerebral palsy; bimanual training; home-based training; therapy-related parental stress; upper extremity.