ABSTRACT

Objective : The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of ADL training based on Neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) principles on the occupations of children with cerebral palsy. Methods : Eleven children with cerebral palsy between 2 and 6 years old were used as subjects. They were divided into an experimental group of 5 and a control group of 6 using a single-blind method. The study used a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group design. ADL training based on NDT principles was applied to the experimental group during two 30-minute sessions per week, with 12 sessions in total over 6 weeks. There was no special treatment for the control group. To assess the effects of the ADL training based on NDT principles for the occupations of children with cerebral palsy, Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), and a paediatric version of the Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM) were used. A Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze the differences between the two groups and a Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was used to analyze the differences between the pre- and posttests in the experimental group. Results : The experimental and control groups showed a significant difference in their occupational performance abilities based on their GAS total T-score, but showed no significant difference in occupational performance based on the COPM and WeeFIM results. The experimental group showed a significant difference in occupational performance ability based on their GAS total T-score, but showed no significant difference in occupational performance based on the COPM and WeeFIM results before and after the experiment. Conclusions : This research suggests positive effects and the possibility of improving the occupational performance of children with cerebral palsy after applying ADL training based on NDT principles.