Effects of auditovisual feedback on eye-hand coordination in children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

BackgroundChildren with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy have deficits in eye-hand coordination. This limits manual actions performed with the affected hand, especially fine motor skills such as grasping and manipulation. Visual-motor integration, grasping skills, and visual perception are collectively involved in eye-hand coordination. AimsWe investigated the effects of augmented biofeedback training on eye-hand coordination in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Methods and proceduresForty-five spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy children (5–8 years old) were included. Children were assigned randomly into three equal groups. One group received traditional physical therapy to facilitate visual-motor integration and grasping skills for 3 months. The second group received augmented biofeedback training. The third group received a combination of augmented biofeedback training and traditional physical therapy. Children were evaluated with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (2nd edition) (PDMS-2). Treatment sessions were conducted for 60 min, three times a week, for 3 consecutive months. Outcomes and resultsChildren that received augmented biofeedback training alongside traditional physical therapy had significantly improved scores in the Visual-Motor Integration and grasping subtests compared to children that received only one intervention. Conclusions and implicationsAugmented biofeedback training alongside physical therapy improved eye-hand coordination in children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy.