Abstract
A single case study was used to evaluate a daily living task as an assessment tool. It was carried out on a daily basis on a patient with upper limb hemiparesis, referred for rehabilitation, over a period of 2 weeks, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment above that of spontaneous recovery. The task was broken down into six stages and each stage was assessed on a three-point scale. The results showed that performance in particular stages of the task could be used to guide treatment and was a quick and easy way to measure dally changes in the patient's functional status. However, it was difficult to separate the improvement due to treatment from learning effects and spontaneous recovery.
There are limitations when carrying out a single case study in a rehabilitation setting which make more complicated studies difficult to pursue. The study did indicate that shoulder stability is required before proximal movements can be properly elicited. If further studies are carried out, a five-point rating scale may increase the sensitivity. Individual assessors and video recordings could be used for a more objective evaluation.
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