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_{March 12, 2026}

Intensive therapy approaches show benefits for infants and toddlers with cerebral palsy

Infants and toddlers with unilateral cerebral palsy, which affects the brain’s control of muscles on one side of the body, show lasting improvements in hand and arm function when they receive early, high-dose therapy, according to a new multisite clinical trial led by Virginia Tech researchers at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.

The Baby CHAMP study — short for Children with Hemiparesis Arm-and-Hand Movement Project — directly compared three therapist-delivered interventions: two forms of constraint-induced movement therapy, which limit the stronger arm to encourage use of the weaker one when combined with therapy, and bimanual therapy, which promotes coordinated use of both hands.

The researchers found that children ages 6 to 24 months showed similar gains whether therapy involved full-time casting, a splint worn during sessions, or bimanual training without constraining the stronger arm.

Published in Pediatrics Open Science, the study addresses a long-standing gap in clinical evidence.