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Larin H.1, Conmy K.1, Schulte N.1, Belen S.1, Stansfield S.2, Dennis C.3, Rader N.4, Pena-Shaff J.4
1Ithaca College, Physical Therapy, Ithaca, United States, 2Ithaca College, Computer Sciences, Ithaca, United States, 3Ithaca College, Occupational Therapy, Ithaca, United States, 4Ithaca College, Psychology, Ithaca, United States
Background: The development of infant postural control in siting has been linked with reaching behavior, allowing interaction with the environment. Typically-developing infants further explore their environment through self-initiated mobility, such as crawling. Infants with impaired postural control in sitting do not benefit from such experiences and are usually not considered for powered mobility until 18 or 24 months. Robotic technology presents an innovative approach to provide early sitting and mobility assistance within a secure set-up. Initial studies indicated that infants as young as 5 months old are capable of learning to use the WeeBot, a robotic mobility device controlled by the infant weight-shifting (forward and sideways) while seated and motivated to reach out. The impact of the WeeBot experience on the infants' postural control remains to be ascertained.
Purpose: To assess the effect of early self-initiated mobility experience using the WeeBot on the sitting postural control of infants with and without impaired mobility.
Methods: Two descriptive studies were conducted. The first study was part of a longitudinal, experimental study; thirty typically developing 5-month old infants, were randomly assigned to a locomotor (WeeBot) or non-locomotor (stationary sitting) group. They participated in a series of twelve videotaped play sessions comprised of 3 minutes of free play, 10 minutes of driver training reaching or direct reaching, and a final 3 minutes of free play, over an 8-week period. At each play session, the parent completed a developmental log in which they circled an image describing the current sitting posture of their child. The images were based on the Alberta Infant Motor Scale. The series of images was coded and analyzed for each group; and the data from the two groups compared.
In the second study, a 10-month old child with hypotonia participated in twelve play sessions following the same protocol. At the end of each session, the child was seated on a low platform placed on the ground and videotaped while maintaining a static position and then, reaching forward and to both sides. The childs postural control in sitting was coded and analyzed from observations of the videotaped sessions.
The studies were approved by the Institutional Board for Human Subjects Research.
Results: The parental report of their infant sitting abilities indicated small but important differences between the two groups. Infants in the locomotor group acquired postural control at a faster rate than the infants in the non-locomotor group. The observational coding of the sitting postural control of the child with hypotonia indicated a rapid improvement over a short period of time.
Conclusion(s): The postural control in sitting of infants, with and without impaired mobility, who experienced early self-initiated mobility using the WeeBot showed a rapid rate of development.
Implications: The use of the WeeBot, requiring self-initiated weight-shifting in sitting, may facilitate the development of postural control of children with varied motor impairments. In addition, providing this more intuitive form of control for a powered mobility device at an earlier age may have effects on other developmental domains. Further research is needed.
Funding acknowledgements: National Science Foundation (NSF) # 1451803 and Ithaca College, Office of the Provost
Topic: Paediatrics
Ethics approval: Ithaca College, Institutional Board for Human Subjects Research
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
