Efficacy of Single Joystick-Operated Ride-On-Toy Navigation Training Program to Promote Increased Spontaneous Use and Motor Function in the Affected Arm in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

The purpose of this study is to assess the adjunctive effects of a home-based single joystick-operated ride-on-toy navigation program to conventional care on affected upper extremity (UE) use and motor function in children with hemiplegia. Wrist-worn accelerometers were worn by children on both their affected and unaffected extremities at baseline (i.e., prior to start of the training program) and during ride-on toy training sessions to measure affected and unaffected arm activity, resulting in measurements of percent duration of time in every session that children engaged in sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous activity (MVPA) using their affected and unaffected arms at baseline and during the early, mid, and late training sessions. Results show an overall average increase in percent duration of time spent in MVPA from baseline to the late session, overall low average levels of time spent in light activity at baseline and during the late session, and an overall average decrease in percent duration of time spent in sedentary bouts from baseline to the early session that was sustained at similar levels even up to the late training session. Based on findings from the study, we determined that there were improvements in affected upper extremity use as well as improvements in bilateral coordination. These improvements in children’s motor skills during the training program indicate great potential for it to be a successful adjunct to conventional, clinic-based therapy, and following further replication of study results, there is a possibility for it to be implemented within the community in the future.