Advanced Bimanual Therapy

This comprehensive, practical and interactive online training course across 4 sessions focuses on the implementation of bimanual therapy for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Guided by theory and evidence, participants will gain insight into the mechanisms and essential ingredients for learning motor skills and how to drive neuroplasticity for long-term outcomes. A mix of formal presentations and small group work will provide participants with the confidence and practical skills to immediately apply evidence-based bimanual therapy in their clinical practice. Detailed course notes, resources and reference material are provided.

The course covers the evidence for bimanual therapy, action-perception theory and hand role differentiation, the principles of activity-dependent plasticity and motor learning, matching the right toy to the right goal for the right child, considerations for infants, children with bilateral impairment and children with cognitive impairment, and measuring practice, feedback conditions and outcomes. Four case studies, worked in small groups using the CPToys platform, run through the course.

Who should attend

Occupational therapists and physiotherapists who provide upper limb intervention to infants, children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.

Course objectives

On completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Summarise the current evidence for bimanual therapy in children with cerebral palsy.

2. Explain functional hand use, hand role differentiation and the development of bimanual skills in infants and children.

3. Explain the mechanisms and essential ingredients for learning motor skills and driving activity-dependent neuroplasticity.

4. Apply motor learning principles to structure practice that supports acquisition, retention and transfer of bimanual skills.

5. Analyse the impact of cognitive impairment on how a child with cerebral palsy learns, and adjust therapy accordingly.

6. Select toys and activities that match the right goal for the right child, with the right level of challenge, motivation, environment and dosage.

7. Design an evidence-based bimanual therapy program, including a home program, and select outcome measures to evaluate it.

Course requirements

Before the course, participants are asked to read the three pre-course papers provided on the CPTeaching Learning Management System (LMS), download the course manual, and register for a free CPToys account at www.cptoys.org, which is used for the small group case study activities.

Prerequisites: Nil. Prior completion of the Functional Hand Use course is helpful but not required.

Attendance at all four online forums is required to receive the attendance certificate.