AHA – the diagnostic test and the treatment program for children at the age of 18 months till 12 years (it is almost finished developing it for children 3-18 months and 13-18 years old) with unilateral hand inefficiency because of:
- hemiplegia
- brachial plexus palsy
- the others reasons of unilateral hand paresis
You should get the certificate to use the AHA test, if you are:
- occupational therapist,
- physiotherapist,
- NDT Bobath therapist,
- pediatritian,
- special educator, having knowlegde of the human anatomy,
- an employee of special care and education or rehabilitation centers or pediatric hospitals.
More information:
Venue in 2020: Poland, Warsaw, Centrum Konferencyjne Ogrodowa 58, ul. Ogrodowa 58, hall Madryd (Madrid)
!!!Date: April 20th – 22nd, 2020 .
Cost of the training course and workshop in Poland: 3600 PLN (VAT included)
Lanaguage of lecture: English (translated into Polish)
Organizing institution: Mazurskie Centrum Szkoleń i Ubezpieczeń Dariusz Wyszyński
Contact data:
mobile: +48 504 039 756
If you want to take part in this event, please fill the registration form from here or we send it to you as a pdf file by e-mail.
If you need more information, do not hesitate to ask.
The AHA Integrated Training Course and Workshop – short information.
The Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) is now a well-established and frequently used evaluative tool to measure how effectively children with unilateral hand dysfunction actually use their involved hand collaboratively with their well-functioning hand to perform bimanual tasks. For the child the AHA is an enjoyable 10 to 15 minute semi-structured play session using a test-kit of selected toys requiring bimanual use. The AHA is then scored from structured video recordings of the observable performance skills during this play. The AHA measurement contains twenty items scored on a four-point rating scale. The outcome is an evaluative interval level measure, which together with the individual child’s response profile, can guide intervention. AHA is a standardized test intended for children with unilateral Cerebral Palsy or Brachial Plexus Palsy between the ages of 18 months and 12 years. A teenage (13-18, adult) version is developed already. It will be mentioned during the course, but not as a main topic. According to the information from dr Lena Krumlinde-Sundholm it needs some different „toys” but the procedure is almost the same.
Validity and reliability of the AHA scores are well documented in several studies. I, ii, iii, iv The AHA has been widely used to evaluate various upper limb interventions including constraint-induced movement therapy (e.g. Eliasson et al 2011, Sakzewski et al., 2011, Aarts et al., 2011), bimanual therapy (Gordon et al., 2011), Botulinum toxin-A (Hoare et al., 2010, 2012), hand surgery (Ponten et al., 2011), splinting (Louwers et al., 2011) and allowed the exploration of longitudinal development of bimanual hand function in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (Holmefur et al. 2010 v, vi ). Welcome to visit the web site www.ahanetwork.se for more information.
The course teaches the Assisting Hand Assessment Version 5.0. It is conducted in two steps:
I – 2½-day training course is given including information about the test construct, testing procedure and scoring practice on a range of children from videos using a manual with detailed scoring criteria and a computer based scoring form.
II – it lasts maximum three months since the date of starting the course and includes doing series of AHA test by analysis of six video recorded play sessions of children by using a specific test kit. Four videos are provided by a Swedish e-learning platform, the last two are self-produced video footages. The participant sends these videos and their evaluations to the AHA-teachers via the internet. Individual feedback of these cases is provided. If your evaluation will not be correct you get information what was wrong and some tips. You have the right to send another video and evaluation of a new case during the already mentioned term.
The result of satisfactory completion of these two steps is obtainment of certification, which confirms that you are able to:
- demonstrate the set up, conduct and video record an Assisting Hand Assessment session and produce reliable scores according to the criteria in the manual,
- verbalize the concept and construct of the test and its psychometric properties,
- interpret and communicate the outcome of the test.
The information above is based on the leaflet of AHA.
Dates of the training course and workshop:
They are set every year
Venue:
Poland, it is set every year
A maximum number of participants: 25
Costs:
It is set every year.
The price includes:
- conducting of classes by Lena Krumlinde-Sundholm and Britt-Marie Zethraeus
- in English,
- sequential translation from English to Polish and from Polish to English,
- manuals in Polish or English,
- score-sheet in paper and electronic in Polish or English,
- a scratchpad and a ballpoint pen,
- treat during the coffee-breaks,
- dinner (lunch),
- individual feedback on six cases and guidance during the certification procedure.
To be able to use the AHA, for a clinical usage and for copmpleting the course, the approved test kit for children between 18 months and 12 years with specific toys must be used. It can be ordered in Handfast Inc. at the course or later, during the certification procedure at a cost of – approximately 3900 SEK plus shipping cost.