The CHAMP Study—a multisite clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health—compares the efficacy of alternative therapies for young children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy, also known as hemiparetic cerebral palsy.
Children who meet study eligibility criteria at one of the three clinical sites— Roanoke, Virginia; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Columbus, Ohio—will be invited to enroll, and their parents will be provided all the necessary paperwork along with informed consent documentation. Assignment to one of the alternative therapy conditions will be random. Participation in the study includes assessment of each child prior to treatment, close monitoring of the child’s progress during treatment, and post-treatment evaluation at the end of therapy, as well as at six and 12months later. Parents will have an active role in the project, both observing their child during therapy sessions and engaging in home-based activities that allow the child to practice and extend new motor skills. Treatment will be provided atno cost by highly qualified, licensed therapists. The CHAMP Study will be enrolling participants through Spring 2016.
Who Is Eligible?
Your child may be eligible to participate in the study if he or she:
• Has a neuromotor impairment that mostly affects one side of the body;
• Is between two and eight years old (up to the ninth birthday);
• Has cerebral palsy or an acquired brain injury prior to the age of two; and
• Is able to participate in four weeks of therapy.
What Is the Treatment?
The child’s stronger arm is placed in a cast or splint so it is immobilized. The treatment will require intensive therapy using the weaker arm and hand. For this study, the high-intensity therapy will be in either two-and-a-half- or three-hour sessions for a total of three or five days a week (depending on group assignment) for four weeks in a row. Some children will be assigned to a group where they will not receive the therapy but will be eligible to receive the therapy in six months or one year. Parents/guardians of children receiving treatment will be given information onhow they can help the child at home, building on the new therapy techniques learned.
FOR MORE INFORMATION visit labs.vtc.vt.edu/nmrc
