Masoud Salavati

Intervention program for children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) at the level of functional skills and self-care

Visual disorders including cerebral visual impairment (CVI) are regularly observed in an elevated number of children diagnosed with the various forms of Cerebral Palsy (CP). CVI can be defined as deficient visual function as a sequel of damage or malformation of the retrogeniculate visual pathways (optic radiations, occipital cortex and visual association areas) and may include deficits in central oculomotor control. Children with visual impairment have an inferior gross motor skill performance and are less physically active than their peers without visual impairment and exhibit poor performance on static and slow dynamic balance tasks.

CVI contributes to diminished gross motor function and functional skills in children experiencing CP with CVI compared with children with CP without CVI. Children with CP and CVI also require increased support at the level of caregiver assistance. Specific interventions need to be developed for children experiencing CP with CVI in order to improve gross motor function, functional skills and caregiver assistance.

The goal of this project is to develop intervention, and treatment programs such that professionals and parents are able to adequately support and stimulate these children in their functional skills and self-care.

Currently, a pilot study is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an individually defined, targeted physical therapy approach in treatment of children with CP and CVI.