Clinical use of ACQUIRE Therapy for Children Diagnosed With CASK-Gene Related Disabilities
Objective:
To report practice based evidence built on clinical findings where an intensive therapeutic approach called ACQUIRE Therapy was used as a rehabilitation/habilitation tool for children diagnosed with CASK mutations. ACQUIRE Therapy delivery is based on principles of learning and guided by a therapeutic framework often used in the delivery of intensive therapy.
Design:
Clinical Cohort.
Setting:
Natural environments (eg, home-like environment).
Participants:
A total of 20 females, 12 to 128 months, mean age = 44.75 (SD = 31.64).
Intervention:
Trained Occupational therapists delivered high-dosage rehabilitation for an average of 64.06 hours (SD = 12.91) across 4 weeks. ACQUIRE Therapy targeted cross-domain intervention targets often associated with executive control and praxis.
Main outcome measures:
Clinical data was examined from the following sources; therapist daily treatment documentation (eg, therapy goals, video recordings, daily therapy logs, and discharge documentation).
Results:
Receptive communication improved in all children. The most common motor skill improvements occurred in trunk control occurring in 33% of children; followed by, gross reaching abilities in 21% of children; fine-motor skills in 19%; head control in 15%; and mobility in 12%. Documentation of cognitive-motor pairing of skills was documented in all children.
Conclusions:
Diagnosis specific intervention targets (eg, attention and cognitive-pairing skills) need to be considered when providing therapeutic services to children with CASK-gene mutations and other forms of Global Developmental Delay. Clinicaltrials.gov registration number is NCT03325946. Date of registration: 1 May 2013. Trial Dates: December 2014 and October 2023. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03325946?locStr=Roanoke,%20VA&country=United%20States&state=Virginia&city=Roanoke&cond=Cerebral%20Palsy&intr=Intensive%20therapy&rank=2
