Peer-reviewed article
Parent Perspectives on I-ACQUIRE Therapy.
Yale MM, Hindery KA, Murray JF, Darragh AR, Ramey CT et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines parent perspectives on I-ACQUIRE therapy, an intensive treatment for infants and toddlers with hemiparesis (one-sided weakness) caused by perinatal stroke. Parents in the I-ACQUIRE treatment groups reported significantly more positive feelings about therapy and fewer concerns about its effectiveness compared with parents whose children received usual treatment. While most parents found the therapy useful and engaging, about a quarter to half still reported treatment-related stress and fatigue.
Key points
- 94%-98% of I-ACQUIRE parents felt therapy was useful versus 83% of usual treatment parents
- Only 2%-4% of I-ACQUIRE parents worried therapy wasn't producing benefits, compared to 18% of usual treatment parents
- 96%-98% of I-ACQUIRE parents found therapy interesting, and 78%-84% found it fun
- 26%-52% of parents across all groups reported treatment-related stress, difficulty, or fatigue
- I-ACQUIRE parents reported fewer concerns about child-therapist (≤2% vs 24%) and parent-therapist (≤2% vs 6%) interactions
Limitations
This study captures parent subjective experiences and satisfaction but does not directly measure child health outcomes or developmental progress. The findings reflect parents' perceptions rather than objective assessment of therapy effectiveness, and selection bias may exist among families willing to participate in a demanding intensive therapy trial.
Abstract
Background Although Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy is increasingly recommended as an evidence-based, intensive treatment for children with hemiparesis, parent perspectives are lacking. I-ACQUIRE, a multicomponent form of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy, involves substantial parent participation. Child outcomes from the United States 15-site I-ACQUIRE phase 3 clinical trial (2019-2025), partnered with a Parent Council, are presented elsewhere. Here, we examine complementary lived-experience parent data. Methods All parents (167) of infants/toddlers with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke and hemiparesis consented to child random assignment to usual treatment (UT), moderate-dose I-ACQUIRE (3 h/d, 5 d/wk over 4 weeks), or high-dose I-ACQUIRE (6 h/d). Parents completed assessments about life- and therapy-related stress, treatment concerns, observations of child progress, and perceived therapy-related responsibilities. Results Parents of children in the I-ACQUIRE moderate-dose (56) and high-dose group (58), compared with UT (53), reported lower rates of concerns or problems that therapy did not produce clear benefits (≤4% versus 18%), child-therapist interactions (≤2% versus 24%), and parent-therapist interactions (≤2% versus 6%). I-ACQUIRE versus UT parents had higher proportions of positive feelings that therapy was useful (94%-98% versus 83%); interesting (96%-98% versus 79%), important (94%-98% versus 85%), and fun (78%-84% versus 53%); and provided comforting (72%-83% versus 47%) and relaxing benefits (28%-31% versus 17%). In all groups, similar proportions reported their role was stressful (I-ACQUIRE 26%-28%, UT 32%), difficult (I-ACQUIRE 35%-48%, UT 38%), and tiring (I-ACQUIRE 48%-52%, UT 43%). General life stress scores were mostly in the moderate-range category, similar across groups. Conclusions Parents of I-ACQUIRE children reported higher positive feelings and notably fewer concerns about lack of benefits compared with UT. Across all groups, some parents (<52%) reported treatment-related stress, difficulty, and fatigue. These findings provide new perspectives from parents' lived experiences to help families and clinicians in treatment decision-making. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03910075.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- I-ACQUIRE therapy, a multicomponent form of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy involving intensive practice (moderate-dose: 3 hours/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks; high-dose: 6 hours/day) with substantial parent participation
- Population
- Infants and toddlers with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke and hemiparesis (n=167 parent-child dyads: 56 moderate-dose, 58 high-dose, 53 usual treatment)
Key finding
94%-98% of I-ACQUIRE parents reported positive feelings that therapy was useful compared to 83% of usual treatment parents
MM et al. · Europe PMC · 9 Oct 2026