The meal-maker: A functional virtual environment for children with cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a severe condition usually caused by decreased brain oxygenation during pregnancy, at birth or soon after birth. Conventional treatments for cerebral palsy are often tiresome and expensive, leading patients to quit treatment. In this paper, we describe a virtual environment for patients to engage in a playful therapeutic game for neuropsychomotor rehabilitation, based on the experience of the occupational therapy program of the Nucleus for Integrated Medical Assistance (NAMI) at the University of Fortaleza, Brazil. Integration between patient and virtual environment occurs through the hand motion sensor “Leap Motion,” plus the electroencephalographic sensor “MindWave,” responsible for measuring attention levels during task execution. To evaluate the virtual environment, eight clinical experts on cerebral palsy were subjected to a questionnaire regarding the potential of the experimental virtual environment to promote cognitive and motor rehabilitation, as well as the potential of the treatment to enhance risks and/or negatively influence the patient’s development. Based on the very positive appraisal of the experts, we propose that the experimental virtual environment is a promising alternative tool for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy.

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Influence of virtual environment complexity on motor learning in typically developing children and children with cerebral palsy

2019 International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation (ICVR) ◽

10.1109/icvr46560.2019.8994487 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Danielle E. Levac ◽

Morgan M. Taylor ◽

Brennan Payne ◽

Nathan Ward

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Motor Learning ◽

Virtual Environment ◽

Typically Developing ◽

Typically Developing Children ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy

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The Influence of Virtual Reality Play on Children'S Motivation

Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1177/000841740507200107 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 72 (1) ◽

pp. 21-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 130

Author(s):

Kristan Harris ◽

Denise Reid

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Virtual Environment ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

Successful Intervention ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy

Purpose. This study explored the degree of motivation children exhibit during virtual reality (VR) play sessions. Method. Sixteen children with cerebral palsy aged 8 to 12 years participated. They were observed during a variety of VR environments that were video recorded. The Pediatric Volitional Questionnaire (PVQ) was used to measure children's motivation. The PVQ provides insights into children's inner motives as well as how the virtual environment enhances or attenuates children's motives. Nine VR environments were randomly selected to score with the PVQ. Results. Data were analyzed and descriptive statistics were calculated for modes and medians of total volition scores for each VR environment. Different environments produced varying levels of volitional behaviour. The features of environments that produced higher levels of volition included challenge, variability and competition. Practice Implications. The overall volitional scores of children with cerebral palsy in the current study indicate that VR play is a motivating activity and thus has potential as a successful intervention tool.

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Overground versus self-paced treadmill walking in a virtual environment in children with cerebral palsy

Gait & Posture ◽

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2014.07.003 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 587-593 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Marjolein M. van der Krogt ◽

Lizeth H. Sloot ◽

Jaap Harlaar

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Virtual Environment ◽

Treadmill Walking ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy

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A Virtual Environment to Improve the Detection of Oral-Facial Malfunction in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s16040444 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 444 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

María-Luisa Martín-Ruiz ◽

Nuria Máximo-Bocanegra ◽

Laura Luna-Oliva

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Virtual Environment ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy

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Prevalence of Speech Problems and the Use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication in Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Registry-Based Study in Norway

Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication ◽

10.1044/aac19.1.12 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 12-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Guro Andersen ◽

Tone R. Mjøen ◽

Torstein Vik

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Palsy ◽

Motor Function ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Alternative Communication ◽

Gross Motor ◽

Gross Motor Function ◽

Children With Cerebral Palsy ◽

Communicative Abilities ◽

Normal Speech

Abstract This study describes the prevalence of speech problems and the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Norway. Information on the communicative abilities of 564 children with CP born 1996–2003, recorded in the Norwegian CP Registry, was collected. A total of 270 children (48%) had normal speech, 90 (16%) had slightly indistinct speech, 52 (9%) had indistinct speech, 35 (6%) had very indistinct speech, 110 children (19%) had no speech, and 7 (1%) were unknown. Speech problems were most common in children with dyskinetic CP (92 %), in children with the most severe gross motor function impairments and among children being totally dependent on assistance in feeding or tube-fed children. A higher proportion of children born at term had speech problems when compared with children born before 32 weeks of gestational age 32 (p > 0.001). Among the 197 children with speech problems only, 106 (54%) used AAC in some form. Approximately 20% of children had no verbal speech, whereas ~15% had significant speech problems. Among children with either significant speech problems or no speech, only 54% used AAC in any form.

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