Bilateral transfer in the learning of the grasping and fitting of objects in children with cerebral palsy

a pilot study

Abstract

Introduction: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is due to a non-progressive lesion in the developing Central Nervous System (CNS), before, during the birth or in the first months of childhood leading to the incapacities and limitations of the functions, affecting the performance of activities of daily living. Objective: to evaluate the effect of bilateral transference in the learning of the task of manual gripping and fitting of objects in children with CP. Methodology: The experimental group (EG) and a control group (GC) were used to perform the study, both of which were paired with age (eight to eleven). The task consisted in seizing and fitting three objects, distributed in four phases, being the familiarization followed by pre-test, practice and post-test. Results: In the post-test phase, it was verified that there was a decrease in the time spent performing the task with the non-dominant hand among the individuals in the experimental group, whereas in the control group the time increased or remained. Conclusion: Children diagnosed with spastic diparesia-like cerebral palsy presented bilateral asymmetric learning transfer, that is, from the dominant hand to the non-dominant hand. The data found show great significance for the process of neuromotor rehabilitation of children with CP accompanied by the physiotherapist.