SMART: Strengthening Mental Abilities Through Relational Training
A new cognitive rehabilitation program for children with Cerebral Palsy
Would you like to take part in a clinical trial of an innovative online program designed to train children in foundational cognitive skills? We are testing a program designed by educational psychologists to train children in skills that underlie complex thinking and learning.
All participants will gain access to a web-based training program - Strengthening Mental Abilities Through Relational Framing - that can be completed from your own home, over laptop, PC or tablet. The program is based on the theory that language and complex thinking is underpinned by our ability to understand relationships between objects, known as relational framing. Participants will receive training in relational framing through an online, user-friendly platform. Children answer problems and receive immediate feedback during 30-minute online training sessions, three times a week for approximately 12 weeks. Participants will be randomly assigned to an intervention group or waitlist control, and all participants will receive access to the program by the end of the study. A comprehensive psychological assessment will be completed before beginning the study, at 20 weeks after beginning, and again at 40 weeks.
Who can participate?
This study is open to children living in Queensland who meet the following criteria:
- aged from 8 to 12 years of age
- with mild to moderate Cerebral Palsy (GMFCS I-IV)
- able to access an online program and perform tasks on iPad, tablet, Mac or PC
- able to attend three assessment sessions at the Centre for Children’s Health Research in Brisbane.
Exclusion criteria:
- unstable epilepsy or brain injury; children currently undergoing active medical treatment (chemotherapy, radiotherapy or neurosurgical treatment).
Contact
For more information about SMART and for all questions, please email Jane Wotherspoon (PhD student) at j.wotherspoon@uq.edu.au, or phone 07 3069 7367.
