TESTS ASSESSING UPPER LIMB FUNCTION AND THEIR USE IN HAND THERAPY FOR CHILDREN WITH HEMIPLEGIC CEREBRAL PALSY

Cerebral palsy encompasses nonprogressive but evolving disorders, primarily motor, resulting from damage to the region of the central nervous system (CNS) during early development. Cerebral palsy occurs at a frequency of 1 in 500 newborns and is the leading cause of physical disability among children. Preterm birth is a major risk factor for cerebral palsy and more than half of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy are born prematurely. Factors predisposing a child to the development of cerebral palsy can be divided into prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal. Cerebral palsy can be divided into 4 main types: spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, and mixed. This paper aims to highlight the need for hand therapy in children with cerebral palsy and the use of clinimetrics in pediatric therapy. The most common scales used to assess upper limb involvement are the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) for children 4-18 years old with cerebral palsy, Zancolli classification, House classification, Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) Test, Melbourne Assessment 2, Hypertonia Assessment Tool (HAT), Ashworth Scale, Modified Ashworth Scale, Modified Tardieu Scale, and general scales used to assess a child's gross and fine motor functioning. Finally, a sample hand therapy program for children with cerebral palsy was proposed.