Stroke is the leading cause of long-term physical disability in Australia. Currently around 25% of hemiplegic stroke patients discharged from rehabilitation have significantly impaired use of the affected hand with consequent dependence in dressing, grooming and feeding themselves. The poor outcome can be attributed in part to a lack of focus by therapists on the negative signs of stroke (weakness and lack of dexterity) as well as too little time (around 10 minutes per day) being devoted to retraining of the arm. Presently there is a very limited evidence base to guide the content of clinical practice. Results from both animal and human studies suggest that specific post-lesion training can result in substantial improvement in function. The hypothesis is that task-specific training of the affected upper limb to subjects in the early period following stroke will result in significantly better functional outcome than standard intervention.