Enhancing Rehabilitation Outcomes in Cerebral Palsy Through Gamified Multidisciplinary Interventions: Integrating Speech and Upper Extremity Motor Therapy

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating innovative home therapy games designed to improve speech clarity and arm movement in children aged 8 to 17 years with cerebral palsy who have mild to moderate speech and movement difficulties. The study aims to combine speech and upper extremity therapy in a gamified approach to enhance participation and motivation, exploring how these therapies affect speech, hand movement, and brain activity. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: speech-only therapy games, arm-only therapy games, or combined speech and arm therapy games. Each child will play these computer-based games at home for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, over an 8-week period. During gameplay, speech and movement will be monitored using a webcam and motion detectors to record performance. Children will visit the lab four times for assessments before starting therapy, at the 4-week midpoint, immediately after completing the 8-week therapy, and 6 weeks post-therapy. These assessments will measure speech intelligibility, hand movement, and brain activation using various tests and questionnaires. Each visit lasts about 2 hours, and the overall study duration is up to 2 years, allowing researchers to track changes over time and evaluate the therapy's effects.

Speech and Arm Combined Exergame