Early Hand Therapy Resources
Supporting Families and Clinicians
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How to Start Early Hand Therapy
Start with a simple roadmap that shows how to get started with early hand therapy.
Find a Therapist Near You
Search for occupational therapists across Canada with early hand therapy experience.
Get Simple Tools to Start at Home
View our lists of affordable toys and materials to support therapy, organized based on hand/arm movement and skill level.
Watch & Learn
See What Therapy Looks Like
Videos of real hand therapy with young children.
Watch Clips on Instagram
Watch Full Videos on YouTube
Virtual Therapy Tips
Learn how to make the most of virtual therapy sessions.
View Virtual Therapy Tips
Coaching Families
When families deliver hand therapy at home, therapists provide support through coaching. Curious about what coaching families looks like?
Watch Coaching Videos
Clinical Resources
Community of Practice
Join a monthly virtual group of clinicians implementing early hand therapy. Share cases, ask questions, and learn what’s working in real settings.
Browse learning resources for shared articles, websites, and podcasts.
Meets Fridays at 2pm ET. Our Fall 2026 schedule:
- September 18. Topic: CIMT and bimanual therapy
- November 20. Topic: Goal-driven therapy
Therapist Tools
Check out the tools developed by our partners at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.
Access the Handbook Create a Therapy Program
Learn to Coach
Want to bring a coaching approach into your early hand therapy practice?
Our 3‑part online workshop series will teach you how to apply coaching concepts directly in your clinical sessions. We’ll introduce the Applied Coaching Tool (ACT), an easy-to-use support tool.
Stay tuned for a training series in Fall 2026.
Connecting Families
Peer Program Plans
Peer connections are important to families of children with cerebral palsy, yet opportunities for children, youth, and caregivers to connect can be limited. Building on the success of the Calgary-based LIFTS peer program, we have developed practical plans to help others create their own peer connection opportunities.
Open Peer Connections Manual
Funding & Access
Funding Organizations
These options are shared to help families explore possibilities to fund early hand therapy outside of public or private health insurance plans.
We do not endorse or have affiliations with any of the organizations listed.
First Nations Families:
- Jordan’s Principle is a child-first principle to ensure First Nations children get the services they need when they need them. This grant is for First Nations children.
Canada-wide Programs:
- Oracle Health Foundation offers a grant for children with medical needs that can be used for therapy: maximum of 26 weekly sessions or maximum of 3 weeks of intensive therapy. This grant is income dependent.
- SMILE Canada Support Services has an Accessibility Fund to assist families with costs associated with the child and/or youth’s disability such as therapies. This grant is income dependent.
- Cerebral Palsy Support Canada Project is a grant for $1000 for children with Cerebral Palsy living in Canada.
- March of Dimes offers free one-on-one Occupational Therapy consultations.
- Hope for Cerebral Palsy provides sponsorship of privately funded, 5 day intensives specifically for children under 5 years old.
Ontario-based Programs:
- Noah’s Clubhouse provides funding for therapy to families with a child under 18 with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Funding is in the amount of $700 to use for therapy only. This grant is for families in Ontario.
- Jennifer Ashleigh Children’s Charity offers a grant for children with medical needs for equipment, therapy, and more for children who are in-patient or receiving receiving intensive outpatient treatment. This grant is income dependent for families in Ontario.
You can download a copy of list list here.
Insurance Coverage
Private insurers often have a maximum value for occupational therapy coverage. These letter templates request additional coverage for occupational therapy. Two letters are included: one written from the therapist’s perspective, and one from the caregiver’s or client’s perspective.
Download Letter Templates
Start a Clinical Program
Looking to start an early hand therapy program at your site? Connect with us to learn how other programs got started and explore how we can help.
Research & External Websites
Search Pubmed for recent articles on early intervention for cerebral palsy
Our publications:
- Hilderley A, O'Grady K, Herrero M, Heptonstall E, Reist-Asencio S, Pynn R, Tao C, Tao S, Diot C, Andersen J, Kirton A. An effectiveness-implementation trial of home-based early hand therapy for young children with cerebral palsy. Res Dev Disabil. 2026;171:105267. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2026.105267.
- Hilderley AJ, Nikitovic D, Fehlings D, Andersen J, Heptonstall E, Cassidy C, et al. Implementation strategies for early hand therapy for young children with cerebral palsy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2026; 00: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.70303
- Vurrabindi D, Hilderley AJ, Kirton A, Andersen J, Cassidy C, Kingsnorth S, Munce S, Agnew B, Cambridge L, Herrero M, Leverington E, McCoy S, Micek V, Connor KO, Grady KO, Reist-Asencio S, Tao C, Tao S, Fehlings D. Facilitators and barriers to implementation of early intensive manual therapies for young children with cerebral palsy across Canada. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025;25(1):503. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12621-z.
Key publications about early intervention:
- Morgan C, Fetters L, Adde L, et al. Early Intervention for Children Aged 0 to 2 Years With or at High Risk of Cerebral Palsy: International Clinical Practice Guideline Based on Systematic Reviews. JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(8):846–858.
- Damiano D, Longo E. Early intervention evidence for infants with or at risk for cerebral palsy: an overview of systematic reviews. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2021;63(7):771-784.
- Novak I, Morgan C, Adde L, et al. Early, Accurate Diagnosis and Early Intervention in Cerebral Palsy: Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment. JAMA Pediatr. 2017 Sep 1;171(9):897-907. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.1689.
We are sharing these links as a resource for families. Sharing this information does not imply endorsement of any particular organization or therapy approach.
The following websites share information about Cerebral Palsy:
- Cerebral Palsy Foundation: Understanding Cerebral Palsy
- Cerebral Palsy Canada Network
- Pediatric Stroke and Brain Injury Education from the Massachusetts General Hospital
- Canadian Persons with Disabilities Discount Guide: The Ultimate List
- Creating possibilities for Cerebral Palsy
- CP-NET
- A Family Guide to Pediatric Stroke
- Pediatric Stroke Warriors
- International Alliance for Pediatric Stroke (IAPS) and the Family Toolkit
- Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association
The following sites share information about early intervention:
- The CIMT Centres (UK and Europe) have videos featuring children’s experiences with constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT).