Effect of Using Adaptive Seating Equipment on Hand Function

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of adaptive swiss ball seating as an alternative for standard chair seating on hand function in children with hemiparesis. Subjects: A total of 30 spastic hemiparetic cerebral palsied children (19 boys and 11 girls), aged 3-6 years participated in this study. They were randomly assigned into control and study groups of equal numbers each consisted of fifteen children (n=15). Methods: Peabody Developmental Motor Scales 2 (PDMS-2) was used to evaluate each child individually before and after three successive months of treatment (3 sessions per week), to assess 2 subtests (the grasping skills and visual motor integration skills) for all children of both groups. Control group who received a specially selected physical therapy program for hand function on a standard chair seating. Study group who received the same selected program for hand function on adaptive swiss ball seating.