Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory
What It Measures
The Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Inventory (CAHAI) measures how much a person's weaker arm and hand actually contribute to real two-handed tasks after a stroke. Every one of the 13 tasks needs both hands — opening a jar of coffee, dialing 911, drawing a line with a ruler, pouring a glass of water, wringing out a washcloth, doing up buttons, drying your back with a towel, carrying a bag upstairs.
That design is deliberate. The point is not whether the person can finish the task with their good hand, but how much of the work the affected side does. Each task is scored on a 7-point scale borrowed from the FIM, from needing total assistance to complete independence. The tasks were chosen by stroke survivors as ones that mattered to them.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: Testing requires a specific materials list — a jar of coffee, a telephone, a ruler, putty, a towel, a 38-litre container weighted to 10 lb, and so on — so cost sits in assembling the kit rather than in a license.
Learn More: Shortened versions exist — the CAHAI-9, CAHAI-8, and CAHAI-7 — developed by the same group and reported with excellent reliability. The CAHAI was designed to complement the Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment, and the two are often used together.
