title: Using Free Internet Videogames in Upper Extremity Motor Training for Children with Cerebral Palsy.
abstract: Movement therapy is one type of upper extremity intervention for children with cerebral palsy (CP) to improve function. It requires high-intensity, repetitive and task-specific training. Tedium and lack of motivation are substantial barriers to completing the training. An approach to overcome these barriers is to couple the movement therapy with videogames. This investigation: (1) tested the feasibility of delivering a free Internet videogame upper extremity motor intervention to four children with CP (aged 8-17 years) with mild to moderate limitations to upper limb function; and (2) determined the level of intrinsic motivation during the intervention. The intervention used free Internet videogames in conjunction with the Microsoft Kinect motion sensor and the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit software (FAAST) software. Results indicated that the intervention could be successfully delivered in the laboratory and the home, and pre- and post- impairment, function and performance assessments were possible. Results also indicated a high level of motivation among the participants. It was concluded that the use of inexpensive hardware and software in conjunction with free Internet videogames has the potential to be very motivating in helping to improve the upper extremity abilities of children with CP. Future work should include results from additional participants and from a control group in a randomized controlled trial to establish efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Creighton Pediatric Therapy, 17055 Frances Street, Suite 103, Omaha, NE 68130, USA. MarisaSevick@creighton.edu.
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sevick
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. eklunde88@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eklund
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. allisonmensch@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mensch
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. foremanm@wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foreman
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. standeve@netscape.net.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Standeven
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. engsbergj@wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Engsberg
keywords: FAAST software; Internet videogames; Kinect; cerebral palsy; feasibility; motivation