Objective:

To examine pre–post change following a novel intensive somatosensory activity-based intervention (ISABI) targeting the more-affected upper limb in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.

Approach:

• Study Design: Exploratory single-arm pre–post study with 16 children aged 6–15 years completing 36 hours of intervention over three weeks.
• Outcome Measures: Assessed using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), Box and Block Test, Jebsen–Taylor Hand Function Test, and a somatosensory assessment battery.

Key Findings:

• COPM performance increased by 71.47% and family satisfaction increased by 62.51%.
• Manual dexterity improved by 12% (Box and Block Test) and 12.38% (Jebsen–Taylor Hand Function Test).
• Improvements in somatosensory outcomes included unilateral and bilateral spatial discrimination, graphaesthesia (33% increase), texture perception (33% increase), and functional sensibility (18.52% increase).
• Occupational problems were primarily related to self-care (81.25%).

Interpretation:

Limitations:

• Exploratory single-arm pre–post design with no control group.
• No follow-up assessments conducted.
• Findings require confirmation in adequately powered randomized trials with blinded assessment.

Conclusion:

Sources:

• ClinicalTrials.gov