Dr. Darcy Fehlings

Challenge Doctors should ideally diagnose cerebral palsy (CP) before a baby’s first birthday, according to international guidelines. This way, the child can access early interventions that will help them reach their fullest potential for movement and function. However, the average age for a CP diagnosis in Canada is 18.9 months, and treatment doesn’t always [...]

Challenge When it comes to neurodevelopmental disabilities, early diagnosis is critical so that children can access supports and interventions early on. For cerebral palsy (CP), it is generally recommended that children be diagnosed as early as possible. Using new tools, in many cases this is potentially feasible by primary care physicians before infants with CP [...]

Challenge New therapies for individuals with cerebral palsy (CP)  with commercialization potential are emerging, but face barriers to a successful rollout. The CP Discovery Project evaluated two interventions. One was a videogame-linked stationary bicycle designed to improve fitness and social interaction. The other was a trial of direct electrical stimulation paired with therapy to improve [...]

Challenge Many children with brain-based disabilities face challenges when it comes to physical fitness. The use of exercise video games (termed exergames) provides a unique approach to engaging youth in physical exercise and social interaction with their peers. A team led by Darcy Fehlings (Holland Bloorview) and Nicholas Graham (Queen’s University) developed an exergame called [...]

Challenge One of the primary treatments for cerebral palsy (CP) is constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT). CIMT immobilizes the stronger limb, forcing the patient to use – and hopefully improve function - in the weaker one. Our researcher team (led by Dr. Derek van der Kooy, University of Toronto) investigated why CIMT works. They believed it [...]

Challenge The Canadian Cerebral Palsy Registry initially launched in 2003 as a platform to store data from people diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP). It has since expanded to include more than 2,250 participants with the disorder and has resulted in more than 35 academic publications. The next phase of the project is looking to expand [...]

Challenge There has historically been a lack of population-based information on how cerebral palsy presents in children, including possible risk factors, antecedent causes, functional severity,  and co-morbidities of the condition. To better understand the condition, the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Registry was created in Cycle I. Project Summary The Registry is a confidential, nation-wide collection of [...]

Challenge While cerebral palsy is the most common physical impairment in pediatrics, there is a lack of data on how the disease presents in children at the population level. Do regional differences exist across the frequency and spectrum of cerebral palsy within Canada? How does the Canadian experience  compare internationally ? What can a population [...]

Challenge While Canadian scientists are leaders in Cerebral Palsy research, effective communication and geography are barriers to creating connections that could lead to meaningful scientific discoveries. Additionally, knowledge of the root causes of CP is at an early stage. The lack of uptake of new evidence-based medical treatments highlights the need for better knowledge dissemination [...]

Challenge When children with cerebral palsy (CP) become teenagers, their physical fitness decreases. This decrease in physical fitness is common due to a combination of factors. Unfortunately, it may also lead to increased social isolation, which in turn impacts well-being/ quality of life. Project Summary The use of exercise video games (termed exergames) provides a [...]