mini-Assisting Hand Assessment – Online, Nth America/Australia/NZ October 2026 – February 2027 (English)

Description

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Mini-Assisting Hand Assessment (Mini-AHA) was developed to evaluate the affected upper limb of young children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) aged 8-18 months. Like the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA), the Mini-AHA involves a video-recorded play session using carefully selected toys that provoke bimanual hand use. Twenty object-related actions of the affected hand are later scored on a 4-point rating scale.

Please note, this course has been scheduled at times suitable for participants living in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. All dates below are listed in the Melbourne time zone.

Step 1 – Access pre-course materials and self-directed learning

Tuesday 20th October to Wednesday 4th November 2026

Modality: Self-directed learning
Time requirements: 10 hours
Time for completion: 2 weeks
Description: Self-guided learning modules accessed via the CPTeaching Learning Management System (LMS). These modules include information about the test construct, testing procedure, and the Mini-AHA items. Quizzes will be used to test your knowledge. You will also be given the opportunity to practice scoring. You must complete this step within the specific time frame (2 weeks) to attend the next steps. There are no exceptions.

Step 2 – Online forum 1

Thursday 5th November 2026: 8:30am to 12:30pm (Melbourne)

To check your local time zone, please refer to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

Modality: Live online forum
Time requirements: 4 hours
Time for completion: Not applicable
Description: The first online forum allows participants to practice scoring with the Mini-AHA teachers. Participants will be given the opportunity to score two (2) Mini-AHA play sessions, discuss their scoring with the Mini-AHA teacher(s) and clarify any questions about specific items.

Step 3 – Self-directed scoring

Thursday 5th November to Wednesday 18th November 2026

Modality: Self-directed learning
Time requirements: 6 hours
Time for completion: 2 weeks
Description: Following the first online forum, participants will be required to score three (3) Mini-AHA 18-18 play sessions. This self-guided-guided step will be accessed via the CPTeaching Learning Management System (LMS). You must complete this step within the specific time frame (2 weeks) to attend the next steps. There are no exceptions.

Step 4 – Online forum 2

Thursday 19th November 2026: 8:30am to 12:30pm (Melbourne)

To check your local time zone, please refer to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

Modality: Live online forum
Time requirements: 4 hours
Time for completion: Not applicable
Description: The second online forum allows participants to seek clarification about specific Mini-AHA items, clarify specific scores for the children scored in the self-directed learning step and discuss any other questions with the teacher(s). Participants will be given the opportunity to score two (2) additional Mini-AHA play sessions.

If participants do not attend and complete the requirements for Steps 1 to 4, they will not be permitted to progress to the Mini-AHA certification procedure. Participants will need to register and attend another course to consolidate your understanding of the Mini-AHA items and reliable scoring. There are no exceptions.

Step 5 – Certification procedure

Step 5.1 – Scoring calibration

Thursday 19th November to Thursday 17th December 2026

Modality: Self-directed learning
Time requirements: 6 hours
Time for completion: 4 weeks
Description: All participants are required to individually score three (4) to five (5) Mini-AHA play sessions. This step must be completed within 4 weeks of attending Online Forum 2.

To pass this step:

• Participants need to pass three (3) out of five (5) of the Mini-AHA play sessions.
  • Two (2) attempts are provided to pass each play session.
• After unsuccessful attempts, participants receive feedback indicating whether scores are “too nice” (scores too high) or “too harsh” (scores are too low).
• Participants must achieve a sum score of ≤ 5 difference for each play session and ≤ 5 items wrong for incorrect scores.

If participants do not achieve a score within these limits for three (3) of the Mini-AHA play sessions and within the required time frame (4 weeks), they will not meet the requirements for Mini-AHA certification. Participants will need to register and attend another course to consolidate their understanding of the Mini-AHA items and reliable scoring.

Step 5.2 – Mini-AHA administration reliability

Thursday 19th November  2026 to Friday 19th February 2027

Modality: Self-directed learning
Time requirements: 4 hours
Time for completion: 3 months after completion of Step 4 – Online forum 2.
Description: Participants are required to administer Mini-AHA play sessions with one (1) child from their practice and complete a self-reflection checklist for these sessions. Each course participant will receive individual, detailed feedback.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

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

1. Understand the constructs and the psychometric evidence upon which the Mini-AHA is based
2. Produce reliable scores according to the criteria in the manual
3. Demonstrate how to select appropriate toys for a Mini-AHA play session
4. Demonstrate the set-up and video-recording of the session and how toys are used to provoke bimanual play
5. Interpret the outcomes of the assessment and how they may be used to guide intervention and measure change

INSTRUCTOR

Dr Sue Greaves (OT, Cerebral Palsy Group, Melbourne)

LANGUAGE

Training in English by an English-speaking trainer.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Physical and occupational therapists who provide assessment and intervention to young children with unilateral cerebral palsy

COURSE PREREQUISITES

Nil

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND AGREEMENT

Please do not register for this course if you:

1. Do not have access to at least one (1) infant/child with unilateral upper limb impairment to complete the Mini-AHA administration reliability procedure.
2. Have planned leave or other factors that will impact your ability to complete all steps outlined above within the time frames specified.

Collate Mini-AHA Test Kit

I acknowledge that I must collate my own Mini-AHA test kit. Using the written and video guidelines provided on the LMS, I need to choose toys as similar as possible to the toys described in order to complete the certification requirements for this course.

Access to infant with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy (8 to 18 months)

I acknowledge that I must have access to one infant with unilateral cerebral palsy, aged 8 to 18 months, to complete the certification requirements for this course.

Course Participation Requirements

I acknowledge that this course consists of self-directed learning modules and scheduled live forums. To be eligible for certification in the Mini-AHA, I must:

1. Complete all self-directed learning modules within the required timeframes, and
2. Attend all scheduled live forums.

Completion Timeframes and Certification Requirements

I acknowledge that I must complete all certification requirements within the specified course timeframes. If I do not meet these requirements, I understand that:

• I will not be able to proceed to the next steps of the course, and
• I will not be eligible to achieve certification for the Mini-AHA.

If I fail to complete the certification requirements within the specified timeframe, I understand that I will need to register and pay for a future course in order to complete certification.

GENERAL COURSE ENQUIRIES

For more information about course content or if you have any questions about booking a place on this course, please contact CPTeaching at admin@cpteaching.com

COURSE REGISTRATION

Please note, CPTeaching has a strict policy of not holding places for courses. All registrations must be processed via the CPTeaching website. Payment must be received in full before the course commencement date.

WANT TO PAY BY CREDIT CARD?

It is possible to process payment via credit card. Please select “PayPal” as the method for payment. You do not need a PayPal account and can use a credit card to process payment using this method.

NEED AN INVOICE?

To obtain an invoice, please register via the website and select bank transfer as the method for payment. You will then receive an automated reply email with an invoice that contains the information you entered during the registration process. Please ensure you enter your details for the participant and you can also add the details for Accounts Payable as the payer. If you do not receive the email in your inbox shortly after registration, the email may likely have been filtered to your spam or junk mail folder.

NEED TO PROCESS PAYMENT VIA PURCHASE ORDER?

Please do not send us a Purchase Order without first registering for a course via our website. In the event that this happens, we will not accept the Purchase Order. To obtain an invoice for payment via a Purchase Order, please select Purchase Order as method of payment during the registration process. You, or a nominated person in your organisation, will then receive an invoice via email. Please note, there is a 10% surcharge applied for all payments processed by Purchase Order. This surcharge is applied due to the significant administration requirements to receive payment and to cover bank transfer fees which your organisation will pass on to CPTeaching. Please note that we will not accept payment via Purchase Order within 1 month from the course commencement date due to the delays in receiving payment.

WANT TO MAKE A LARGE GROUP BOOKING?

If you would like to make a large group booking for your organisation, please first email us at admin@cpteaching.com to seek further information.

REGISTRATION CLOSING DATE

25th September 2026