DEVELOPMENT AND RELIABILITY OF A SYSTEM TO CLASSIFY GROSS MOTOR FUNCTION IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL-PALSY

To address the need for a standardized system to classify the gross mo tor function of children with cerebral palsy, the authors developed a five-level classification system analogous to the staging and grading systems used in medicine. Nominal group process and Delphi survey cons ensus methods were used to examine content validity and revise the cla ssification system until consensus among 48 experts (physical therapis ts, occupational therapists, and developmental pediatricians with expe rtise in cerebral palsy) was achieved, Interrater reliability (kappa) was 0.55 for children less than 2 years of age and 0.75 for children 2 to la years of age. The classification system has application for cli nical practice, research, teaching, and administration.