CBT Program for Pain Management for Children and Youth With CP (CBT=Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; CP= Cerebral Palsy)
CBT Program for Pain Management for Children and Youth With CP (CBT=Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; CP= Cerebral Palsy)
This study will focus on the feasibility of a modified cognitive behavioral program for pain
 management among children and youth with cerebral palsy (CP) on developing pain coping skills
 and reducing pain interference levels The study design is a randomized control feasibility
 trial. Participants will be placed randomly into one of two groups based on chance (50/50).
 The 2 groups are: (1) immediate treatment group and (2) delayed wait-list treatment group.

 Both groups will receive the same intervention protocol.
Children with CP often experience pain that is related to their medical condition and that
 may limit or interfere with their everyday activities and Quality of Life (QoL).One possible
 way to help these children is by using a modified cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pain
 management.

 For this study, the investigators want to do a feasibility study, to see if participating in
 a six-week pain management CBT program for children and youth with CP and their parents,
 leads to better pain coping skills and lower levels of pain interference, when compared to a
 controlled waiting list.

 Participants in both groups (immediate and delayed treatment) will participate in a 2-hour
 CBT session, once a week, for a total of six weeks. Following 3-months from the last CBT
 session, participants will be contacted for a short follow-up screening. All participants
 will be enrolled in the study for a total of 18 weeks.

 This study will be done at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto,
 Canada. Sixteen participants with CP (gross motor function classification system (GMFCS)
 levels I-V), age 8 to 18, with evidence of chronic pain (detailed as pain lasting more than 3
 months or lasting longer than the expected time to heal) and their parents, will be recruited
 for participation.
Inclusion Criteria:

 1. Diagnosis of CP

 2. Chronic pain lasting greater than 3 months and restricting some or all activities
 according to child/youth/parental self-report

 3. A baseline score of 70 (~ -2 SD) on each of the three vineland adaptive behavior
 scales (VABS) sub-scales: communication, daily living skills and socialization

 4. Successful completion of a modified sorting task including sorting cubes according to
 size and rating activities in order of how much they like to do them

 5. Parent agreement to participate in the parents' program

 6. Can communicate in English, with or without the use of augmentative communication
 devices

 Exclusion Criteria:

 Participants who meet any of the following criteria will not be eligible to take part in
 the trial:

 1. Diagnosis of major visual or hearing impairment

 2. Currently attending psychological treatment focused on pain management; (3)
 Uncontrolled seizure(s) (with or without medication) in the previous 12 months.