Vedano Olona

Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of play-based rehabilitation as usual care for children with cerebral palsy, a common childhood disability affecting movement and posture. The study aims to compare two rehabilitation methods: intensive care provided in hospital inpatient units and extensive care offered in community rehabilitation centers. Both methods deliver the same total treatment dose but differ in session frequency and duration to determine if treatment timing affects outcomes. The intensive rehabilitation consists of 3-hour daily sessions, 5 days a week for 5 weeks, totaling 45 hours, while the extensive rehabilitation involves 3-hour weekly sessions over 15 weeks, also totaling 45 hours. Both approaches focus on improving gross motor skills, manipulative abilities, visual, and visual-cognitive functions. Treatments are delivered according to usual care practices in either hospital or outpatient settings. Participants will be assessed using the Functional Independence Measure for children (WeeFIM) and the Gross Motor Function Measure 88 (GMFM-88) at the start, immediately after treatment, and at an 8-month follow-up. Researchers will monitor motor function, independence, and treatment effects over time. The study includes children aged between 6 months and 5 years diagnosed with cerebral palsy and involves long-term follow-up to evaluate sustained outcomes.

Millions of children worldwide are diagnosed each year with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD), a broad group of conditions including genetic syndromes and brain injuries like cerebral palsy. These children often face challenges not only with language but also with social and communicative skills essential for early development. The parent-child relationship plays a key role in supporting these skills, so this research evaluates whether an intervention focused on early social and communication skills involving parents can help children with NDD aged 6 months to 5 years. The study compares two groups: one receiving an intervention called SPEAK that actively involves parents in supporting the child's social and communicative behaviors during activities such as play and snack time, and the other receiving standard speech therapy focused on traditional speech goals without active parental involvement. Both groups attend eight weekly sessions lasting 45 minutes each over two months. The SPEAK intervention covers topics like early interaction, gestures, attention, and verbal comprehension with flexible session content tailored by therapists. Participants undergo assessments before and after the interventions, including evaluations of language, social, and communication development and a 10-minute video recording of parent-child play to analyze parenting behavior. Researchers will measure changes in early socio-communicative skills, communication and language development, and parenting interactions at the start and two months after beginning treatment. Adherence will be tracked, and no risks beyond standard clinical practice are expected for participants.