Neuro-Developmental Therapy/Bobath Approach on children with Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Neurodevelopmental Therapy (NDT) in conjunction with other therapy approaches offer a forward-looking interdisciplinary problem-solving approach to the treatment and management of any individual with a central nervous system disorder.

 Aim: The aim of the pilot study was to establish the effect of Combined Therapy Approaches (CTA) on the intervention of four children aged 48.1 months to 60 months with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Repetitive learning processes of CTA during task specificity activities provide an overview of the impact of high dosage intervention for children with CP.

 Methodology: A One-Group Pre-test-Post-test Design was followed. The pilot study included four children with active participation of the parents during frequent intervention sessions. The children were classified on the Gross Motor Function Classification System

(GMFCS) at levels IV and V with some homogeneity. All children were evaluated before intervention, directly after intervention sessions and again at eight weeks after the initial testing using the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory Computer Adaptive Test (PEDICAT) and Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM). Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) that involves careful prediction of expected outcomes enabled a thorough description of the children's level of performance in a target area.

 Results: The success of the intervention was confirmed by the positive results obtained on the Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS).

 Conclusion: Intensive task-specific training showed to be beneficial for the children, resulting in improved developmental domains for the child with CP. These findings emphasize that evidence-based treatment-intervention approaches for children with CP should be applied including traditional NDT/Bobath.