Review finds clinic-based measures correlate with school performance in cerebral palsy

OBJECTIVES: Demonstrate correlations of clinic-based measures of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Body Structure and Function, capacity and performance with a school-based performance measure in children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) using a transdiagnostic approach. METHODS: 102 ambulatory children with CP underwent assessment of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic Core Scales (PedsQL), 3-Dimensional Gait Analysis, Gillette Functional Assessment Questionnaire (GFAQ), and Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) done in clinics, compared with School Function Assessment (SFA) done in schools. Here we report on SFA correlations. For this paper, Spearmans correlations were calculated. RESULTS: All measures showed some significant correlations with the SFA; greatest number of moderate to strong correlations were with PODCI, including PODCI comorbidities scales. PODCI performance questionnaire was correlated with all SFA scales. PODCI, as a performance measure, is broader, more holistic, than the capacity and BSF measures. Findings are demonstrative of a focus on the ICF approach, indicating separate domains of function and well-being, reflective of the transdiagnostic approach. CONCLUSIONS: The transdiagnostic approach, looking at a broader picture than simply diagnosis, thus paralleling concepts presented in the ICF, is beneficial in assessing functioning and well-being in children with CP. Keywords (Transdiagnostic, Performance, Cerebral Palsy, PODCI, ICF)