Can’t Open Your Hand? Try This High-Five Game 👦🏻✋ | Hemiplegia PT #5

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. I’m back with my unforgettable co-instructor, Devan (Dev in this video) 👦🏻 — and this time Pop 👨🏻‍🦳 joins us for a hand-opening activity that quickly becomes just as much about turn-taking, humor, and negotiation as it is about movement. Devan is 15 years old and has right hemiplegic cerebral palsy from a perinatal left MCA stroke, along with a seizure disorder, developmental delay, ADHD, autism, anxiety, mixed receptive-expressive language disorder, blindness in his right eye, poor impulse control, aggressive behavior, chronic insomnia disorder, duplication of chromosome 16, hypertropia, and muscle weakness. He receives private physical and occupational therapy along with speech therapy, school-based vision services, and vocational rehabilitation. He lives with Momma Sue and Pop and attends virtual school due to behavioral limitations. In this activity, Dev works on opening his right hand to give “high fives” while earning points toward a highly motivating reward… a fart machine 😂 ✋ What You’ll See in This Video In this session, Devan practices active finger extension and hand opening using repetitive high fives with both Pop 👨🏻‍🦳 and me 👩🏼. You’ll see: • Repetitive practice of opening the hand for functional movement • Assistance only in the range where movement is difficult • Overflow movements into the opposite hand • Heavy use of motivation and humor to maintain participation • Constant negotiation about who gets to say the next number 😄 • Pop helping maintain engagement through playful interaction • Emotional investment and participation during a very difficult task 💡 Why This Helps Children and teens with hemiplegic cerebral palsy often have difficulty actively opening the hand and fingers, especially during functional movement. This activity helps: • Encourage active finger extension • Improve motor control during hand opening • Build repetition without making the activity feel purely exercise-based • Support participation through social interaction and shared attention • Increase motivation during difficult upper extremity work One of the most important parts of therapy is finding ways to keep hard work emotionally engaging. In this session, the counting game becomes part of the treatment itself. 🛠️ Practical Tips • Allow the child to move as independently as possible first • Assist only where movement breaks down • Use humor and relationships to increase participation • Keep repetitions functional and interactive • Let motivation drive the activity whenever possible • Sometimes the social interaction is what keeps the movement going 👦🏻✨ Families and therapists from around the world 🌍👨🏽‍👩🏼‍👧🏿👩🏾‍⚕️👨🏻‍⚕️ watch these videos, and I hope seeing real interactions like this helps spark ideas for making difficult therapy work more engaging and meaningful. 🧩 Watch the entire playlist for Devan here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjOIKzrx2Rj-qEsmTTeFtR-v ⚠️ Safety Note These videos are for educational purposes only and are not a replacement for individualized physical therapy. Every child is unique. Please do not attempt these techniques if your child’s medical condition or abilities differ significantly from Devan’s. (I cannot provide treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated.) 📧 Contact amysturkey@gmail.com 🌐 Website www.pediatricPTexercises.com 🪶 Accessibility Closed captions have been reviewed and corrected. To turn on captions: Click CC To change languages: ⚙️ Settings → Subtitles/CC → Choose language or Auto-translate If captions block important details, they can be toggled off in the video player. 📚 Books by Amy Sturkey (Amazon) P is for Poop and Pee Accidents – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 A is for Anxiety – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR C is for Cerebral Palsy – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP D is for Down Syndrome – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 A is for Autism – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB 🧠 Professional PT Books Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees – https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD