Wrist Extension Is Hard! Try This Simple Target Trick 👨🏾‍🦱🖐🏾 | Athetoid Cerebral Palsy PT #9

I’m continuing this series with my co-instructor, Ne’Quan 👨🏾‍🦱💙 Ne’Quan has spastic athetoid cerebral palsy, and I was his physical therapist from age 9 through age 26. When we began filming this playlist, he was 27 — and at this point, we are simply dear friends. Although Ne’Quan is an adult, the motor challenges he experiences are the same challenges I address across the lifespan. The strategies used in this series apply to young children and adults alike — what changes is how the task is presented. With younger clients 👧🏽👦🏼, these skills are often built through play. With Ne’Quan, we work directly using verbal cues, repetition, task progression, and long-established trust. 🧠 What This Video Focuses On In this session, we work on wrist extension — an essential but often difficult movement for individuals with athetoid cerebral palsy. Because of fluctuating tone, Ne’Quan tends to hold his wrists in flexion. This makes it challenging to lift the hand up into extension, especially in a controlled and repeatable way. For this activity, I ask him to: • Lift his hand up into wrist extension • Raise his hand toward a clear target • Repeat the movement multiple times on each side We complete 10 repetitions per hand. You’ll notice that he sometimes uses extra movement, including side-to-side (medial and lateral) deviation, as he works to access wrist extension. You’ll also see that once I help him move through the full range or provide a stretch, it becomes a little easier for him to find the movement again. This is very typical — sometimes the body needs help “remembering” how to perform a movement. 🧠 Why Wrist Extension Matters Wrist extension is critical for: • Functional hand use • Grasp and release • Weight bearing through the hands • Supporting fine motor tasks Without wrist extension, it becomes much harder to use the hands effectively in daily activities. 💡 Therapy Tip Using a clear target can make a big difference. • It shows exactly how far the movement needs to go • It provides a concrete goal • It encourages full range of motion If your client is struggling to initiate the movement, you can: • Help guide them through the motion • Say, “It feels like this” while assisting • Then allow them to try independently This combination of guided movement and repetition can help improve motor planning and access to the skill. 📌 About Ne’Quan • Walks in daily life with someone nearby for safety 🚶🏾‍♂️ • Does not speak; communicates using gestures, signs, an alphabet board, and a switch-accessed communication device 💬📱 • Strong receptive language skills • Limited hand control affecting fine-motor and self-help tasks 🤲🏽 • Functionally most similar to GMFCS Level III ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Introduction & Meet Ne’Quan 00:16 Ne’Quan Introduces Himself 00:25 Athetoid CP & Hand Function 01:04 Wrist Extension Setup 01:20 First Side Practice 02:32 Second Side Practice 03:32 Why Practice Matters 03:44 Assisted Movement Strategy 03:54 Closing 🎥 Watch All of Ne’Quan’s Videos (Playlist) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjNPEoC-A5MaSjxfr_omXGDS 🌐 More Resources Website: https://www.pediatricPTexercises.com Facebook: Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises Email: amysturkey@gmail.com 💬 Captions / Accessibility I’ve reviewed and corrected the captions for clarity. To turn on captions: click CC. To change caption language: Settings → Subtitles/CC → choose a language or Auto-translate 🌍 📚 Books by Amy Sturkey (Amazon) Children’s Books 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 Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercise Books Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Hips — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Knees — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Ankles — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD