The concept of modular motor therapy in paediatric neurology

Abstract

For the last decade a growing number of studies have shown proof of principal and efficacy of therapeutic techniques witch have been based on elementary rules derived from basic science knowledge in fields of motor learning, behavioural shaping etc. Nevertheless the problem remains in how far particular treatments work in individual patients. At the St. Mauritius Therapy Clinic we developed a „modular“ concept to come around this problem: Modules are sets of treatment options arranged in hierarchy of severity of functional impairments e.g. module V for patients with a severe motor problem, module I for patients with only minor deficits. Each module consists of primary and secondary procedures witch monitored by fixed set of assessment procedures. This guarantees that every patient with a particular type and severity of problems is given a quality proven therapeutic option. The fact that several primary evidenced based procedures are done in parallel every patient allows to avoid therapy failures in individual patients. These modules are structured in the form of an automatic learning algorithm that allows at any time to embed new techniques into each module. We will present modules for upper and lower extremities for motor problems in children with cerebral palsy (CP).