Effect of a functional physical therapy program on cerebral palsy children, associated to guidance for their caregivers: a preliminary study

Abstract

The purpose was to verify the effect of a functional physical therapy program on children with cerebral palsy, associated to guidance to parents and/or caregivers; and to search for correlations between the child's functional abilities and caregivers' assistance, by means of the Pediatric Evaluation Disability Inventory (PEDI). Four hemiplegic, spastic children between 24 and 43 months old, classified at the Gross Motor Function Classification System level I, were submitted to four evaluations, the first prior to program onset, and the others 30, 60, and 90 days after the first one. PEDI parts I (Functional abilities) and II (Caregivers' assistance) were used. Caregivers were provided with written instructions on how to best deliver care at home. The physical therapy program consisted of three weekly 1-hour sessions for three months; two sessions were of physical therapy based on Bobath concept, and one, of daily activities training. The analysis of results showed children obtained a significantly higher score at the last assessment as compared to the first. A high, significant correlation was found between PEDI parts I and II (r=1.0; p=0.083). The functional physical therapy program associated to instructions to caregivers proved thus effective to improve the functional performance of level-I children with spastic hemiplegia.