Treating Cerebral Palsy in Children: Birth to 3 Years

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Video Runtime: 55 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 48 Minutes

There is evidential support for providing therapy intervention earlier with increased intensity and specific modalities for babies and toddlers with cerebral palsy or at high risk to develop cerebral palsy. This course is designed to educate about this evolving practice and provide therapists with the key ingredients to be able to implement the different therapy modalities into daily practice.

Learning Objectives

Examine the difference between the terms high risk for CP and CP and differentiate its implication to treatment
Utilize the nine domains of therapeutic needs for children identified with high risk for CP or CP in the birth-to-3-year-old population to increase participation in daily occupations
Integrate evidence-based therapy approaches with clinical reasoning skills to implement therapy techniques in daily treatment sessions
Select parent coaching strategies to use in order to facilitate active movement of the child to achieve functional goals

Meet your instructor

Heather A. Mahnken

Heather Mahnken is a pediatric occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience. She has worked in many settings including outpatient therapy, acute care, school, and early intervention. Her passions include working with children with neuromotor diagnoses, including CP, ASD, and coordination disorders; creating motor…

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Chapters & learning objectives

1. High Risk for Cerebral Palsy vs. Cerebral Palsy

Treating children under 3 years of age is a critical developmental window to shape participation in play. In addition, it will cover having an appreciation for a parent’s perspective of having a child who may be moving their body differently.

2. Treating the Whole Child

Discovering what is most important to work on for the family includes helping them focus on the whole child and the strengths they bring to participation in everyday activities. This chapter will utilize the nine domains of function to help families prioritize what is most important and functional.

3. Baby Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (Baby CIMT)

Baby CIMT is a therapy modality to improve the best capacity of the weaker upper extremity. This chapter will educate about the key ingredients to implementation, discuss strategies for home programs, and demonstrate the technique.

4. Bimanual Therapy Programs

Bimanual therapy programs are a therapy modality to improve the bimanual performance of the upper extremities through principles of motor learning. This chapter will educate about key ingredients to implementation of this modality, discuss dosage of a home program, and demonstrate the technique with a child with CP.

5. Parental Coaching Model

A coaching model is an effective treatment modality to improve motor performance and create a partnership with the families. This chapter will examine various types of coaching models and demonstrate the use of one of these strategies with a child with CP.

More courses in this series

Cerebral Palsy in Children: Diagnosis, Presentation, and Evaluation

Heather A. Mahnken