Movement Therapy (Dohsa-hou) for Cambodian Children with Cerebral Palsy: Effectiveness in Improving Gross Motor Skills in Sitting Position

Abstract

This study was conducted with children with cerebral palsy living in a national children's residential facility in Cambodia in order to verify the improvement of children's gross motor skills in a sitting position. Dohsa-hou (literally translated to “movement therapy”) is a technique developed in Japan to improve movement with a psychological approach. In this study, a total of 6 sessions of Dohsa-hou were conducted with 12 target children over a 3-day intensive intervention period. Gross Motor Function Measure Manual-88: GMFM-88 (B: sitting position) was used as an effectiveness index, and the index was analyzed before and after the intervention and significant improvement was confirmed after the intervention.