Tight muscles pulled her left arm into her chest and her fingers into a clenched fist, making it difficult for her to use her hand.

Fast forward five years and it’s hard to believe that this is the same Megan — a 6-year-old racking up points on a virtual-reality game she controls by opening her weak hand and reaching it up to grab and move items on a TV screen.

Megan is immersed in a virtual ‘cook-off’ with Mr. Chef — slicing her hand through the air as she chops pickles, reaching up to grab a piece of cheese, then circling her arm to mix a milk shake.

For Megan, it’s just good fun. For her mom Susan, it’s the perfect therapy.

“When I have to do exercises with Megan at home, it’s a struggle,” Susan says. “But what child doesn’t want to play a video game?”
Megan is participating in a research study at Bloorview to see if the virtual-reality game can build muscle strength, co-ordination and control in her weak arm — allowing her to use that limb more naturally.

The system — developed by Bloorview researchers — combines an off-the-shelf Sony PlayStation 2 console, a TV, a web cam to capture the child’s movements and a computer. To activate it, Megan needs to hold one button down under her chair with her strong hand and press her back against another to maintain good posture.

Researchers anticipate game play will improve function in the weak arm. That means children like Megan will be better able to use their hand in everyday activities like doing up buttons or preparing a snack.

Similar virtual-reality environments for adults with stroke have been shown to reawaken wiring in injured parts of the brain.

The beauty of the virtual-reality game is that children can use it on a daily basis at home — instead of needing to make weekly trips to a therapist and relying on busy parents to carry-over repetitive exercises at home.

“We believe that when a child generalizes an activity into their day-to-day environment, that’s when they can start to make change,” says Dr. Darcy Fehlings, an international expert in childhood cerebral palsy who heads Bloorview’s child development program.