Care Pathway for Dystonia in Cerebral Palsy
Key Messages on the “New”AACPDM Care Pathway for Dystonia in Cerebral Palsy video.
CP-NET Meet the Expert: Neurotechnology
Dr. Elaine Biddiss and Dr. Anna McCormick answered questions about the CP-NET neurotechnology platform and a video game (Bootle Blast) that they developed to track the movement of children with cerebral palsy.
Traffic Lights Model for Cerebral Palsy Interventions
Professor Iona Novak answered several questions about the State of the Evidence Traffic Lights 2019 systematic review on interventions for preventing and treating cerebral palsy in children.
Mental Health in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cerebral Palsy
This workshop, led by Dr. Jan Willem Gorter, explores the preliminary findings from the MyStory study, provides resources to help cope during COVID-19, and shared strategies framed around the F-Words on how to stay active and engaged!
Transition to Adult Care: Experiences from Youth and Young Adults
A CP-NET webinar presented by young adults with cerebral palsy who share about their journey from child to adult health care.
Stay-FIT
A CanChild research project that aims to develop a program to promote physical activity and encourage an active lifestyle in youth with cerebral palsy (CP) who are learning how to take care of themselves.
MyStory
The MyStory Project will study the physical health (fatigue and pain), mental health (anxiety and depression), chronic stress, and overall well-being in Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) with Cerebral Palsy (CP) between the ages of 13-30.
Childhood Cerebral Palsy Integrated Neuroscience Discovery Network (CP-NET)
This project, called CP-NET, will connect children with Cerebral Palsy and their families to a network of world-renowned researchers from across Ontario, and across scientific disciplines to improve the understanding of CP and accelerate the development of new treatments.
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) Webinar
This CP-NET webinar allows you to meet the experts on Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), highlighting frequently asked questions and practical information. All information is presented in plain language by a panel that includes parent, doctor, therapist, and researcher perspectives.
Metformin and Neural Repair in Mouse Models of Cerebral Palsy
Metformin is an promising drug that may be effective in the treatment of people with CP following brain injury.
On Track Study Report to Families March 2018
On Track Study Report to Families March 2018
Cerebral Palsy and Mental Health
Mental and physical health are deeply interconnected. While chronic health conditions such as Cerebral Palsy (CP) can increase the risk of developing anxiety or depression, untreated anxiety or depression can also contribute to poor physical health.
Should the Gross Motor Function Classification System Be Used Outside of Cerebral Palsy?
The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) is a classification tool used to describe levels of gross motor functioning of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Because of the tool’s accuracy in classifying children with CP, some researchers have attempted to use the GMFCS to describe functional mobility of people with other conditions. Here we explain why the GMFCS should not be used outside the domain of CP.
Monitoring development of children with cerebral palsy: the On Track study. Protocol of a longitudinal study of development and services.
Monitoring development of children with cerebral palsy: the On Track study. Protocol of a longitudinal study of development and services.
Bringing the ‘F-Words’ to Life: How are families and service providers using the ‘F-words’ in practice?
A CP-NET webinar highlighting ‘F-word’ in Childhood Disability resources and strategies for implementing the concept at home and in clinical practice.
Finding Community: Social Media for Families of Children with Disabilities
Disability is a culture of identity to which parents aren’t given a handbook, and families of children with disabilities often experience significant stress and feelings of isolation. Social media can be an excellent tool for connecting with other families to share lived experience, support, resources and mentorship, while the accessibility of social media can bridge the barriers of geographic distance and rare diagnoses.
My Favourite Words
Based on “The ‘F-words’ in Childhood Disability: I swear this is how we should think!” (© CanChild 2012) Created by Instituto Nossa Casa (Brazil) . English version produced by CP-NET with support from the Ontario Brain Institute.
Creating Possibilities for Cerebral Palsy (Video)
Created in collaboration with children, youth and adults with cerebral palsy and their families, and released in celebration of World CP Day.
Discover CP-NET (Video)
Learn more about CP-NET, our vision, our programs of research, and the amazing partners that help make it all happen
Communication Technology for Children with Cerebral Palsy
CP-NET is proud to present “Communication Technology for Children with Cerebral Palsy”, a webinar highlighting new research and technologies that aim to assess and support a child’s ability to communicate.
Genomic Copy Number Variation in Cerebral Palsy
Scientists have identified many genes involved in neurodevelopmental and neuromuscular disorders, such as autism and muscular dystrophy. This study’s goal was to investigate whether changes in genes could also have effects that result in cerebral palsy (CP).
CP & the Brain (Video)
Darcy Fehlings explains how CP can effect the brain depending on the type and location of the brain injury.
World CP Day Posters
“The Six ‘F-Words’ for CP” is based on the paper “The ‘F-words’ in Childhood Disability: I swear this is how we should think!” by Dr. Peter Rosenbaum and Dr. Jan Willem Gorter, and focuses on the key areas of child development. The six F-words are Function, Family, Fitness, Friends, Fun, and Future.
Growing up with CP: Mental health & well-being
CP-NET is excited to present “Growing up with CP: Mental Health & Well-being,” a webinar initiated and led by young adults for young adults. Highlighting both lived experience and recent research from the CP-NET MyStory project, this webinar will explore the intersection of mental health and CP, and discuss how we can better support young people in developing positive outcomes in mental health and well-being.
Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy for children with cerebral palsy: Is there an impact on brain activity?
This In Brief discusses Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT), a therapy approach program aimed to improved the hand and arm use of children with hemiplegia.
Meet Jessica (Video)
In this video, Jessica (a community advisor on cerebral palsy research and person with lived experience) and Jan Willem (a clinician researcher studying cerebral palsy) tell us about cerebral palsy, some of the misconceptions that surround it and what we can do to tackle them. Produced by the Ontario Brain Institute for Brain Awareness Week 2017.
Current State of Stem Cell Treatments for Cerebral Palsy: A Guide for Patients, Families, and Service Providers
This resource describes stem cells in the context of cerebral palsy, and describes the current state of stem cell treatments, including an update on clinical trials and stem cell tourism.
Creating the Future: Engaging Children with Cerebral Palsy in the Circle of Care (Video)
A video inspired by the parent members of the On Track study team and funded by PCORI.
Checking Up and Checking In: Partnering with Families of Children with Cerebral Palsy (Video)
A video inspired by the parent members of the On Track study team.
Pain Prevention and Treatment in Children and Young People with Cerebral Palsy
Pain in children and young people with cerebral palsy is under-recognized and can have a serious impact on quality of life. The webinar is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn more about pain in children and young people with cerebral palsy.
Letting go (at least a little bit)
Jan Willem Gorter discusses teens in transition in this video produced by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation. What do you do to encourage your child’s independence?
What is Cerebral Palsy? (Video)
Peter Rosenbaum explains the basics of CP in a video produced by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
These six F-words won’t fill up your swear jar: What do the F-words mean to youth with impairments? (Video)
Young people discuss what the “F-words” in disability mean to them, while celebrating all they CAN do!
Genetic Factors in Cerebral Palsy
Recent headlines about the role of genetics in cerebral palsy may have you wondering how studies in genomics might affect your day-to-day life, clinical practice or research. Topics covered by the webinar include an overview of the human genome, how it can vary from person to person, what this has to do with CP & where this might lead
Move & Play Glossary
ActivityActivity is defined by the World Health Organization as the “execution of a task or action by an individual”. Examples of activities are eating, talking, and walking. Within this classification system, the essence is being able to do these activities,…
Designing Action-based Exergames for Children with Cerebral Palsy
Exergames are a promising way to allow children with CP to participate in physical activity, permitting adaptations of exercise equipment and video games. In this In Brief, researchers tried to answer the question “Can action based exergames that are fun to play over the long term be designed for children with CP?”
Summary of the CP-NET Clinical Constraint Therapy Study
Summary prepared for participants in a 2012 CP-NET Clinical Constraint Therapy study.
Complementary and Alternative Therapies (CAMs): What are the Issues and Why are they so Heated?
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the term for medical products and practices that are not part of standard care. This webinar was presented by Dr Peter Rosenbaum on behalf of CP-NET.
Neurodevelopmental therapy and casting: A comparison of intensive neurodevelopmental therapy plus casting
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the combined effect of intensive neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) and casting in children 18 months to 4 years of age who have cerebral palsy.
Lower extremity splinting for children with cerebral palsy
The purpose of this multi-centre randomized control trial was to evaluate the effects of lower-extremity orthoses on the gross motor function and performance of children with spastic CP who are not yet walking independently.
Family-centred functional therapy
The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate a family-centred functional therapy approach to improving motor function in 18-month to 4-year old children with cerebral palsy.
How Does Clinical Research Work? A two-part Primer. Part 2: How to Do a Study, and What Should We Measure?
Part 2 focuses on issues in outcome measurement and generalizing findings from one study to the next.
How Does Clinical Research Work? A Two-part Primer. Part 1: How to Ask a Research Question and Design a Study
Clinical and health services research in childhood disability are essential if we are to move the field forward and have confidence that what we believe we ‘know’ is in fact based on credible studies.
Aquatic Exercise Programs for Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy
Aquatic exercise programs can provide a fun and motivating form of physical activity.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) as a ‘treatment’ for Cerebral Palsy
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a technique that allows 100% oxygen to be delivered to the body’s tissues under increased atmospheric pressure. To achieve this, the patient enters a “pressure chamber” that makes it possible to increase the atmospheric pressure to “hyperbaric” levels, i.e., above the earth’s atmospheric pressure at sea level.
How to recognize and refer children with hemiplegic (unilateral) cerebral palsy
‘Hemiplegia’, ‘hemiparesis’, or ‘unilateral’ CP affects the movement and muscle tone on one side of the body, although often the other side of the body may be affected to a lesser extent.2 It is the most common form of CP.
Casts, Splints, and Orthoses – Upper Extremity Review of effectiveness literature for children with neurological disorders
Children who have a neurological condition, such as cerebral palsy or brain injury, often have difficulty moving their body. Muscle spasticity is one of the most common reasons for this difficulty.
Alternative And Complementary Therapies Casts, Splints, and Orthoses – Lower Extremity
Support for the research to conduct this review comes from a grant from The EconoEconomical Insurancemical Insurance Group
The Use of Botulinum Toxin in Children with Muscle Stiffness: An Update
This Keeping Current is one of a series of reports that discuss the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions for children and youth with brain injury.
Gross Motor Ability Estimator (GMAE-2) Scoring Software for the GMFM
The GMAE-2 is a software package for scoring the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM). Like the original, it provides an interval-level measure of gross motor function based on a child’s score on the items of the GMFM.
Measure of Processes of Care Software
Might the development of a software system to accompany the Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC) Outcome Measure enhance the use of this tool in clinical practice?
Developing and Validating the GMPM
This project was designed to investigate the validity, reliability and responsiveness of the Gross Motor Performance Measure (GMPM).
Creating the MPOC, Part 2: Validation of a measure of processes of care-giving
This cross-sectional study continued a multi-year program of research conducted to understand the relation between caregiving offered to parents of children with neuro-developmental disabilities and parents’ mental health
The Impact of Environmental Setting on the Mobility of Children with Cerebral Palsy: Research Findings and Clinical Implications
Gross motor function of children with CP is highly variable. Children who are able to walk vary in their speed, endurance, and need for assistive devices.
Family Life – Move & Play Study
This report focuses on what parents told us about their families at the 2nd session (a telephone interview). We asked about many different things, for example: family activities, the supports that families have in caring for their children, and the home environment.
Health Conditions of Children With Cerebral Palsy (CP): Move & Play Study
This report focuses on what parents told us about the health conditions their children have, and how these conditions affected their daily lives. When we say “health”, we mean all the different functions of the whole body.
Parent to Parent
Helpful tip sheets written by parents who have children with Cerebral Palsy for parents.
On Track Study Family Newsletters
The On Track Study is a large multi-site collaboration involving researchers, therapists, families, and children with cerebral palsy (CP) from across Canada and the United States.
Recognizing and Referring Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: The Role of the Physician
When parents bring their children into the office for healthy child visits, you have a wonderful opportunity to explore many areas of child development including cognitive, speech, language, gross motor and fine motor, social and self-care.
Conceptual Model of the Move and PLAY study
A conceptual model is a diagram that shows different factors that we think may have an effect on a variety of outcomes, such as motor abilities, self-care abilities, and participation in play.
What helps adolescents with cerebral palsy to be physically active? Developing a program to support youth based on focus groups.
In this communication we want to share our study protocol as part of a program to support physical activity for youth with cerebral palsy (CP) using a focus group methodology.
Determining Physical Activity Levels and Cardiovascular Health in Adults with Cerebral Palsy (Stay-FIT 20-40 years study)
In the Stay-FIT pilot study, it was determined that the physical activity level of adolescents with CP (mean age 13.5 years) was lower than that of their healthy peers. However, the vessel health was not statistically different.
Language Characteristics of Children and Youth with Cerebral Palsy
Children with cerebral palsy are at increased risk for language disorders. It is estimated that 20% of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy have severe communication impairments.
Research summary: Changing the task or changing the environment = Changing the Child
This summary is written to help families of children with Cerebral Palsy to understand the findings of a research study “Focus on function: a cluster, randomized controlled trial comparing child-versus contextfocused intervention for young children with cerebral palsy”.
Parent reporting of the GMFCS: How does it compare to classifications made by clinicians?
The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) is a widely used method for classifying the movement ability of children with cerebral palsy.
Taking the Leap
An informational transition guide for teens with Cerebral Palsy (CP) in starting high-school.
Adolescents with cerebral palsy: Transition to high school
The literature helps in understanding the things that affect children with CP in moving from preschool to primary school and from school to post-secondary options.
Stay-FIT Pilot Study: Accelerometry is a good way to measure daily physical activity in adolescents with Cerebral Palsy.
The purpose of this study (a Stay-FIT pilot study) was to test the ability of a device known as an accelerometer to measure physical activity in adolescents with CP.
An Update On The Use Of Virtual Reality Technology To Improve Movement In Children With Physical Impairments
The use of virtual reality technology as a rehabilitation intervention to improve or remediate children’s movement skills is being explored in clinical practice and research.
Sleep Issues Among Children with Cerebral Palsy
Sleep issues are very common throughout infancy, childhood, and pre-adolescence. Studies estimate that sleep disturbances vary from 5% to 40% among all children.
CP-NET Meet the Expert: Transition
Dr. Elaine Biddiss and Dr. Anna McCormick answered questions about the CP-NET neurotechnology platform and a video game (Bootle Blast) that they developed to track the movement of children with cerebral palsy.
Serial Casting in the Upper Extremity of Children with Cerebral Palsy
Serial casting is an intervention practice that is becoming more commonly used in occupational therapy (OT) practice, in addition to other treatment modalities/protocols for children with cerebral palsy to manage spasticity and related contractures.
Ontario Motor Growth Study
The Ontario Motor Growth Study was a longitudinal study designed to chart the gross motor progress of a randomly selected sample of over 650 Ontario children with cerebral palsy.
Determinants of Life Quality in Children with Cerebral Palsy
This two-year study described quality of life and level of participation of children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST)
The Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test is an outcome measure designed to evaluate movement patterns and hand function in children with cerebral palsy.
Quality FM
The Quality FM is an observational instrument to be used in the evaluation of the quality of movement in children with cerebral palsy.
What is the evidence of the effectiveness of strengthening for children with cerebral palsy aged 4-18 years?
Muscle weakness is commonly seen in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and can impact on their activities and participation in daily life situations.
Enhancing Fitness, Adaptive Motor Function, and Participation of Children with Cerebral Palsy Classified in Levels IV and V
This report will address adaptive motor function of children with cerebral palsy. Adaptive motor function enables performance of activities in daily life despite limitations in motor control of posture and movement.
Disability and Child Development: Integrating the Concepts
The purpose of this Keeping Current is to review the concern that, rather than being integrated, these two streams (“development” and “disability”) of thought have traditionally run more or less in parallel.
An Update on Constraint Therapy in Children with Hemiplegia
Constraint therapy aims to improve the hand and arm use of children with hemiplegia. It involves physical constraint of the uninvolved or less affected arm to increase the use of the more involved or affected arm.
Focus on Function
The Focus on Function Study will compare two treatment approaches (“child-focused” and “context-focused”) that are currently being used for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental and motor delays.
Caring About Caregivers
Through this research, we are investigating how various child and caregiver characteristics impact the health of primary, informal (unpaid) caregivers (usually parents).
Adolescent Study of Quality of Life, Mobility and Exercise (ASQME Study)
Although it has been suggested that adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) may experience loss of function following puberty, little research evidence exists to support this claim.
Learning about the Benefits of Microboards: Danny’s Story
This was a qualitative research study intended to increase the understanding of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) by examining the observations and experiences of their parents.