Robot Assisted Therapy & Cognitive Skills Training to Promote Upper Extremity Functional Recovery After Stroke: A Theory Based Approach (848116)

While systematic reviews have shown robot-assisted therapy to be as effective as repetitive task-specific training at increasing motor capacity, as measured by standardized clinical assessments following stroke, they provide little evidence for the transfer of trained motor skills to paretic upper extremity performance during daily activities. This disparity is a significant clinical issue and critical barrier to the integration of robotic technology into clinical practice. This presentation will describe the development, refinement and initial results of the Active Learning Program for Stroke (ALPS), which incorporates motor learning principles (e.g. repetition, salience, transference) during robot-assisted therapy and participant-selected home action plans (HAP) to facilitate the transfer of robot-trained motor skills to upper extremity performance in the home and community. The ALPS protocol is relevant to clinical practice because it provides clinicians with a structured, client-centered motor learning approach to optimize functional use of the paretic arm and hand after stroke.