Bleyenheuft, YannickAraneda Oyaneder, RodrigoVancolen, ElisaElisaVancolen2025-05-142025-05-142025-05-142024https://hdl.handle.net/2078.2/39886Aim: This study aimed to investigate attentional networks (alertness, orienting and executive attention) alterations in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP) and to explore the effects of an intensive motor skill learning therapy, Hand-Arm Bimanual Intensive Therapy Including Lower Extremities (HABIT-ILE), on these networks. Method: Twenty-seven children with UCP were randomized to a Treatment Group (TG; n=15), participating in a 65-hour HABIT-ILE camp or to a Control Group (CG; n=12), receiving 2-week conventional therapy. Attentional functions (alertness, orienting, executive control) were assessed using the children’s Attention Network Test (ANT). Assessments were conducted pre- (T1) and post-intervention (T2). UCP performance was compared to that of typically developing children (TDC; n=27). Results: Children with UCP exhibited slower processing times (PT) and increased number of errors (ER) in alerting attention (pPT= 0.02; pER<0.001) and executive attention (pPT= 0.002; pER<0.001) compared to TDC. A 2 (CG vs TG) x 2 (T1, T2) Repeated-Measure ANOVA on the time factor revealed a significant interaction effect for PT (F(1, 20)= 6.060; p= 0.017), indicating improvement specifically in the TG over time. Conclusion: This study provides the first evidence of alerting and executive attention deficits in UCP compared to TDC by using the ANT and suggests HABIT-ILE’s potential to enhance specifically executive attention in this population.unilateral cerebral palsyHABIT-ILEintensive therapyattentional functionschildrentext::thesis::master thesisthesis:44662