Association between upper limb clinical tests and accelerometry metrics for arm use in daily life in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between upper-limb (UL) clinical tests and UL accelerometry-derived metrics in children with unilateral Cerebral Palsy (CP).

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, twenty children with unilateral CP and Manual Ability Classification System level I-III were included. Outcomes of the Assisting Hand Assessment, Box and Block-Test and accelerometry metrics were collected in the clinical setting and in daily life.

The Screening Hand Assessment for Infants for detecting the risk of unilateral cerebral palsy: Item selection and development.

Aim: To develop a screening tool (the screening Hand Assessment for Infants [s-HAI]) for infants aged from 3.5 months that can identify a high risk of developing unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) based on a selection of items from the HAI.

Method: Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed on previously collected HAI assessments from 212 infants (104 females, 108 males) aged from 3.

The assisting hand assessment for children and youth with brachial plexus birth injury: a study of validity and item hierarchy of AHA-Plex.

Objective: Functional assessments that focus on activity performance and that produce valid outcome measures for people with brachial plexus birth injury are lacking. The primary aim of this study was to re-evaluate the internal scale validity of the Assisting Hand Assessment specifically for children and adolescents with brachial plexus birth injury. Two further aims were investigating whether the scale could be shortened for this group while maintaining psychometric quality, and exploring and presenting its item difficulty hierarchy.

The Dyskinesia Impairment Scale, Second Edition: Development, construct validity, and reliability.

Aim: To create a shortened, more user-friendly Second Edition of the Dyskinesia Impairment Scale (DIS-II) to assess dystonia and choreoathetosis, and evaluate its construct validity and reliability.

Method: Scale development included an online expert meeting (n = 21) and iterative discussions within the research group (n = 6). A Rasch measurement model analysis on DIS scores from individuals with dyskinetic cerebral palsy or inherited/idiopathic dystonia (n = 123, 74 males, mean age 14 years, SD 5 years) was performed to evaluate the construct validity and reliability of the DIS-II.

Physical characteristics and upper-limb treatment with botulinum neurotoxin A in children with cerebral palsy: A population-based study.

Aim: To describe the use of upper-limb botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT-A) treatment in a population-based sample of children with cerebral palsy (CP), by investigating whether factors may be related to a first upper-limb BoNT-A treatment and whether passive range of motion (ROM) is related to a first BoNT-A treatment after adjustment for confounders.

Method: Data from five regions in Sweden, in the national registry and follow-up programme for CP (CPUP), were collected for children with spastic or dyskinetic CP assessed between 2000 and 2017. CP subtypes, functional classification levels, and traffic-light-based passive ROM categories were investigated.

External validity of the Both Hands Assessment for evaluating bimanual performance in children with bilateral cerebral palsy.

Aim: To investigate the external validity of the Both Hands Assessment (BoHA), a new test evaluating bimanual performance in children with bilateral cerebral palsy (CP), by analysing its relationship to established measurements of hand function and self-care skills.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited children with bilateral CP and manual ability corresponding to Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) levels I to III attending three habilitation units in Norway. All participants completed the BoHA.

Recovery and Prediction of Bimanual Hand Use After Stroke.

Objective: To determine similarities and differences in key predictors of recovery of bimanual hand use and unimanual motor impairment after stroke.

Method: In this prospective longitudinal study, 89 patients with first-ever stroke with arm paresis were assessed at 3 weeks and 3 and 6 months after stroke onset. Bimanual activity performance was assessed with the Adult Assisting Hand Assessment Stroke (Ad-AHA), and unimanual motor impairment was assessed with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA).

Interrater and test-retest reliability of the Hand Assessment for Infants.

Aim: To evaluate the interrater and test-retest reliability, standard error of measurement (SEM), and the smallest detectable difference (SDD) of the Hand Assessment for Infants (HAI).

Method: HAI assessments of 55 infants (26 females, 29 males), 25 with clinical signs of unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) and 30 typically developing (mean [SD] age 6.8mo [2.

Early Intervention for Children Aged 0 to 2 Years With or at High Risk of Cerebral Palsy: International Clinical Practice Guideline Based on Systematic Reviews.

Importance: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability. Early intervention for children younger than 2 years with or at risk of CP is critical. Now that an evidence-based guideline for early accurate diagnosis of CP exists, there is a need to summarize effective, CP-specific early intervention and conduct new trials that harness plasticity to improve function and increase participation.

Predictive validity of the Hand Assessment for Infants in infants at risk of unilateral cerebral palsy.

Aim: To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value of the Hand Assessment for Infants (HAI) in identifying infants at risk of being diagnosed with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP), and to determine cut-off values for this purpose.

Method: A convenience sample of 203 infants (106 females, 97 males) was assessed by the HAI at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

A Strength-Based Intervention to Increase Participation in Leisure Activities in Children with Neuropsychiatric Disabilities: A Pilot Study.

The aim is to evaluate the feasibility of an intervention model with a client-centered goal-directed approach with the aim to enhance the child's participation in leisure activities, self-efficacy, and activity performance. A pilot intervention using a client-centered goal-directed approach and a single-subject design was performed. Two Swedish boys with neuropsychiatric diagnosis aged 12 and 14 years old were included, and 3 leisure activity goals were identified.

Upper-limb contracture development in children with cerebral palsy: a population-based study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal development of passive range of motion (ROM) in the upper limbs in a population-based sample of children with cerebral palsy (CP), and to investigate which children are more likely to develop contractures related to functional level, CP subtype, and age.

Method: Registry data of annual passive ROM measurements of the upper limbs from 771 children with CP (417 males, 354 females; mean age 11y 8mo, [SD 5mo] range 1-18y) were analysed. Mixed models were used to investigate at what age decreased passive ROM occurs.

The Adult Assisting Hand Assessment Stroke: Psychometric Properties of an Observation-Based Bimanual Upper Limb Performance Measurement.

Objective: To investigate interrater and intrarater reliability, measurement error, and convergent and discriminative validity of the Adult Assisting Hand Assessment Stroke (Ad-AHA Stroke).

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: A total of 7 stroke rehabilitation centers.

Development of bimanual performance in young children with cerebral palsy.

Aim: To describe the development of bimanual performance among young children with unilateral or bilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: A population-based sample of 102 children (53 males, 49 females), median age 28.5 months (interquartile range [IQR] 16mo) at first assessment and 47 months (IQR 18mo) at last assessment, was assessed half-yearly with the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) or the Both Hands Assessment (BoHA) for a total of 329 assessments.

The effectiveness of Baby-CIMT in infants younger than 12 months with clinical signs of unilateral-cerebral palsy; an explorative study with randomized design.

Aim: To explore the effectiveness of baby-CIMT (constraint-induced movement therapy) and baby-massage for improving the manual ability of infants younger than 12 months with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: Infants eligible for inclusion were 3-8 months old with asymmetric hand function and at high risk of developing unilateral CP. Thirty-seven infants were assigned randomly to receive baby-CIMT or baby-massage.

Development of the assisting hand assessment for adults following stroke: a Rasch-built bimanual performance measure.

Aims: To describe the development of a new test of bimanual performance for adults following Stroke, the Adult-Assisting Hand Assessment Stroke, and to report the evidence of internal and external validity.

Methods: Scale development included: (i) establishing the test situation; (ii) constructing test items; (iii) evaluating internal construct validity by use of Rasch measurement analysis on 144 assessments of adults with hemiparesis, mean age 53 years (SD11.45); and (iv) investigating external validity by correlation to the Jebsen and Taylor Test of Hand Function and the ABILHAND Stroke.

Development of the Hand Assessment for Infants: evidence of internal scale validity.

Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a descriptive and evaluative assessment of upper limb function for infants aged 3 to 12 months and to investigate its internal scale validity for use with infants at risk of unilateral cerebral palsy.

Method: The concepts of the test items and scoring criteria were developed. Internal scale validity and aspects of reliability were investigated on the basis of 156 assessments of infants at 3 to 12 months corrected age (mean 7.

Early, Accurate Diagnosis and Early Intervention in Cerebral Palsy: Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment.

Importance: Cerebral palsy describes the most common physical disability in childhood and occurs in 1 in 500 live births. Historically, the diagnosis has been made between age 12 and 24 months but now can be made before 6 months' corrected age.

Objectives: To systematically review best available evidence for early, accurate diagnosis of cerebral palsy and to summarize best available evidence about cerebral palsy-specific early intervention that should follow early diagnosis to optimize neuroplasticity and function.

Parents' experiences of conducting a goal-directed intervention based on children's self-identified goals, a qualitative study.

Aim/objective: To explore and describe parents' perceptions and experiences of conducting a goal-directed intervention focused on children's self-identified goals.

Material And Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were performed with nine parents (8 mothers, 1 father). All the parents had participated actively in conducting a goal-directed intervention addressing their children's self-identified goals.

Reliability of the Assisting Hand Assessment in adolescents.

Aim: To investigate the interrater and test-retest reliability of the Assisting Hand Assessment in adolescents (Ad-AHA) with cerebral palsy (CP) and to evaluate the alternate-form reliability of different test activities.

Method: Participants were 112 adolescents with unilateral CP (60 males, 52 females; mean age 14y 5mo [standard deviation {SD} 2y 8mo], Manual Ability Classification System levels I-III). Reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), smallest detectable change (SDC), and Bland-Altman plots.

Development and Validation of the Both Hands Assessment for Children With Bilateral Cerebral Palsy.

Aims: To develop a hand function test for children with bilateral cerebral palsy (CP) measuring bimanual performance, including quantification of possible asymmetry of hand use.

Method: The Both Hands Assessment (BoHA) content was developed through adaptation of the Assisting Hand Assessment (version 5.0).

Hand Function in a Population-Based Sample of Young Children with Unilateral or Bilateral Cerebral Palsy.

Aim: To describe aspects of hand function in a population-based sample of young children with clinical signs of unilateral or bilateral cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: A cross-sectional study with data from national CP registers in Norway. Manual ability was classified with the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) or Mini-MACS.

Development of the Assisting Hand Assessment for adolescents (Ad-AHA) and validation of the AHA from 18 months to 18 years.

Aim: To develop and evaluate a test activity from which bimanual performance in adolescents with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) can be observed and scored with the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA), and to evaluate the construct validity of the AHA test items for the extended age range 18 months to 18 years.

Method: A new test activity was developed and evaluated for its ability to elicit bimanual actions in adolescents with (n=20) and without (n=10) unilateral CP. The AHA scores of 126 adolescents (mean age 14y 3mo, SD 2y 6mo; 71 males, 55 females) and 157 children with unilateral CP (mean age 6y 1mo, SD 2y 10mo; 102 males, 55 females) were analysed using the Rasch measurement model.