Crawling is an essential milestone in a baby's development. But according to OU researchers, many infants with cerebral palsy are unable to crawl. That can have lifelong consequences. 9-month old Carter Johnston is part of a group chosen to be part of a study to help babies with cerebral palsy. Carter, born 10-weeks premature, doesn't have the disability but most children born with the cerebral palsy are premature making him perfect for this mobility study. For the past nine years, Dr. Thubi Kolobe and her team have been developing this prototype, one that she believes is vital to a child's brain development. "We felt that if we could identify them early, then we could introduce intervention early before they are delayed," said Dr. Thubi Kolobe.
OU associate professor Andrew Fagg created the software used to track the baby's movement. "When children learn how to crawl, it's very much of a reinforcement learning process."
Clinical physical therapist, Amanda Porter, has been working with Carter for the past 9 weeks making home visits once a week. "We are just trying to encourage him to get things that are enticing to him, whether it's a toy, or his mom to try and make it move, accidental or on purpose."
Researchers want to get these robots in the homes of kids with C-P but they also hope it could someday help with other developmental disabilities.
