physical activity

Challenge Physical activity is beneficial for all children but has particular benefits for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. However, children living with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families often experience exclusion and lack of opportunities to engage in community recreation opportunities. For children, social isolation can have dramatic consequences because social interactions enable children to learn and [...]

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 It is well established that children benefit from physical activity. But for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, participating in these activities is often challenging, which prevents them from engaging and, in turn, limits their development even further. Project Summary Community-based physical activity programs (PAPs) represent a low-cost, high-impact intervention strategy that can improve the function [...]

Challenge Raising children with neurodisabilities is often isolating and stressful for families, stretching time, finances and everyone’s resilience. At the same time, the health and education systems both face challenges in meeting all the needs of children and their caregivers. Project Summary In addition to promoting physical literacy, community-based physical activity programs provide children with [...]

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 [...]