This doctoral dissertation aimed to systematically map the methodological characteristics and research trends of single-case experimental design(SCED) studies in pediatric physical therapy, and to explore the functional and neurophysiological effe...
This doctoral dissertation aimed to systematically map the methodological characteristics and research trends of single-case experimental design(SCED) studies in pediatric physical therapy, and to explore the functional and neurophysiological effects of a combined neuro training(NT) and neurodevelopmental treatment(NDT) intervention in children with cerebral palsy(CP). The dissertation comprises two integrated studies. Study 1 was conducted as a scoping review following the six-stage framework of Arksey and O'Malley(2005) and the PRISMA-ScR reporting standards. A systematic search was performed in two rounds: Round 1(March 2026) covered PubMed, EBSCOhost(CINAHL), DBpia, RISS, and KISS, identifying 36 studies; Round 2(April 2026) added a supplementary search of EBSCOhost MEDLINE Ultimate, identifying 49 additional studies(50 identified, 1 DOI duplicate removed). A total of 85 studies published in the past decade were included for analysis. Quality assessment was conducted using both the What Works Clearinghouse(WWC) Standards and the SCED Scale. Among the 49 MEDLINE studies, 59.2% were published in JCR Q1 or Q2 journals, with a mean Journal Impact Factor of 2.66. Across all 85 studies, 69.4% were indexed in Web of Science core collections(SCIE/SSCI). Cerebral palsy was the most frequently studied population(47.1%), and multiple baseline design(MBD) was the most commonly used design type(31.8%). Cross-tabular analyses identified critical research gaps, including limited SCED research in non-CP pediatric populations, infant/adolescent age groups, and studies integrating neurophysiological measurement. Study 2 employed a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design with eight children with CP(S1–S8). Following three baseline measurements(BL1, BL2, BL3), an 8-session intervention was delivered over 4 weeks(twice weekly), with each session consisting of 10 minutes of NT(Tobii eye-tracking based EYAS visual tracking training and Moti Physio(MG solutions,Seoul, Republic of Korea) posture analysis system) followed by 30 minutes of NDT. Outcomes were measured at five time points using the Korean Pediatric Balance Scale(K-PBS), Gross Motor Function Measure-88(GMFM-88), and 19-channel dry-electrode electroencephalography (DSI-24). All eight participants demonstrated Tau-U = +1.00 and PND = 100% across all behavioral outcome variables(K-PBS, GMFM-88 total, D area, E area), indicating consistently very large effect sizes. Mean K-PBS change at FU was +14.38 ± 3.66 points, exceeding the minimum clinically important difference(MCID ≈ 4 points) by two- to three-fold. GMFM-88 D-area (Standing) and E-area(Walking, Running, Jumping) showed mean changes of +14.42% and +11.81% at post-intervention, respectively. EEG analyses of the sensorimotor cortex(Cz/C3/C4 mean) revealed decreases in theta and alpha/mu ratios at week 4, suggesting potential neuroplastic changes consistent with sensorimotor activation. This dissertation provides the first systematic methodological mapping of pediatric physical therapy SCED research and contributes preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of combined NT and NDT interventions in children with cerebral palsy. By integrating a methodological landscape analysis (Study 1) with a multi-layered exploratory experimental study(Study 2), this dissertation demonstrates the academic justification and clinical value of single-case experimental design as a doctoral research method in pediatric physical therapy.