THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT TREATMENT ACTIVITIES ON FUNCTIONAL FINE MOTOR COORDINATION IN ADULTS WITH BRAIN INJURY

Objectives. Occupational therapists frequently work to improve the fin e motor coordination skills of adults who have dexterity deficits seco ndary to brain injury. Most therapists use a combination of tabletop a nd functional activities to foster improved coordination in these clie nts. This study examined the effects of puzzle construction and kitche n activities on fine motor coordination in a group of 45 men with brai n injury, as measured by pretest and posttest performance on two subte sts of the Jebsen-Taylor Test of Hand Function. Method. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a parquetry block assembly group (n = 22) or a meal preparation group (n = 23). Results. Subjects in the functio nal meal preparation group showed significantly greater improvement in dominant-hand dexterity for picking up small objects than subjects in the tabletop puzzle activity group. Other coordination test results w ere comparable for the two treatment groups. Conclusion. These finding s suggest that functional activities may be better than tabletop activ ities for fine motor coordination training with this population.