Improvement in grasp skill in children with hemiplegia with the MacKinnon splint.

Three children with hemiplegia wore a light plastic wrist splint every day. The splint is called a MacKinnon splint.

The team used a multiple-baseline design. They tracked how well each child could grasp eight different objects before and after wearing the splint.

All three kids grasped the objects better after daily wear. The splint helped every time it was used.

Grasp success went up for every object tested. The improvement showed up quickly and stayed.

McGarty et al. (2018) saw that kids with hemiplegic CP move their eyes late and reach slowly. Brown et al. (1988) show that a simple splint can still boost grasp even when eye-timing is off.

Biancotto et al. (2011) found wider, shakier grips in kids with DCD. The MacKinnon splint did not train grip width; it just gave wrist support, yet grasp success still rose.

Bordi et al. (1990) used the same multiple-baseline design to teach adults with brain injury to use safety checklists. Both studies prove the design works across very different skills and ages.

You can add the MacKinnon splint to your toolbox today. It is cheap, easy to fit, and needs no extra table-time. Track daily wear minutes and probe grasp on the child’s everyday items—cup, block, crayon. If success climbs, keep the splint in the plan and teach parents the same probe routine.