Comparison of two occupational therapy approaches for treating the young cerebral-palsied child.

This pilot study compared the results of facilitation and functional treatment approaches on the overall development of 12 cerebral-palsied children aged 1 to 5 years. The Denver Developmental Screening Test and the Bayley Motor Scale were used to evaluate the subjects. Pairs of children with similar developmental ages were identified and randomly assigned to the two treatment programs. Posttests and subsequent statistical analyses indicated that the group of children receiving the facilitation treatment approach showed significant improvement then did the group receiving the functional treatment approach in computed developmental age. Results suggest that comparative and evaluative studies should be continued on these approaches, as well as on other areas of clinical practice, to validate the effectiveness of occupational therapy treatment.