Virtual Hand-Arm Assessments for Children With Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) affects approximately 1 in 500 Canadian children, and the majority experience hand and arm limitations that impact independence, participation in daily activities, and overall quality of life. Many children require ongoing clinical assessments and therapy delivered in specialized centres, creating significant burden related to travel, scheduling, and interruptions to school and work. Barriers such as geography, socioeconomic factors, and pandemic-related service disruptions have further limited equitable access to in-person care. Although virtual care has expanded rapidly and families have expressed strong interest in hybrid care models, there is currently no validated approach for conducting comprehensive virtual hand-arm assessments for children with CP. Virtual administration of standardized assessments, individualized goal-based evaluations, and naturalistic observation tools has not been systematically studied. Evidence is urgently needed to determine which assessments can be administered virtually, how acceptable and feasible they are for families, and whether virtual and in-person assessment methods produce equivalent results.