Measuring functional status and family support in older school-aged children with cerebral palsy: Comparison of three instruments

Objective: To compare a pediatric and an adult version of a functional stat us measure and a family support measure for assessing school-age children w ith spastic cerebral palsy. Design: A prospective study involved functional status measurements using t he Pediatric Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM), the Adult Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and a family support measure, the Amount of As sistance Questionnaire (AAQ). Participants: The feasibility sample consisted of 47 children aged 2 to 12y rs with cerebral palsy. The study sample consisted of 20 children aged 7 to 16yrs with spastic cerebral palsy (50% diplegia, 50% quadriplegia). Interventions: Initial assessment interview included the WeeFIM, developmen tal milestones, educational achievement information, and the AAQ. Within 1 month, a follow-up phone interview using the FIM was completed. Main Outcome Measure: The WeeFIM and FIM measure independence in self-care, sphincter control, mobility, locomotion, communication, and social cogniti on. The AAQ measures the time and assistance required by a child in essenti al daily tasks. Results: Pearson's correlation coefficient exceeded. 97 for WeeFIM and FIM total score in the total sample as well as in two subgroups of children: th ose with diplegia and quadriplegia. Total scores in WeeFIM and FIM as well as domain scores were significantly different between children with diplegi a and quadriplegia. Parental amount of assistance on the AAQ was significan tly correlated with WeeFIM and FIM scores. Conclusion: Either the WeeFIM or FIM can be used for monitoring functional status through adolescence in children with spastic cerebral palsy. Functio nal limitations are highly related to requirements for parental assistance.