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 status measure and a family support measure for assessing school-age children with spastic cerebral palsy. DESIGN: A prospective study involved functional status measurements using the Pediatric Functional Independence Measure (WeeFIM), the Adult Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and a family support measure, the Amount of Assistance Questionnaire (AAQ). PARTICIPANTS: The feasibility sample consisted of 47 children aged 2 to 12 yrs with cerebral palsy. The study sample consisted of 20 children aged 7 to 16 yrs with spastic cerebral palsy (50% diplegia, 50% quadriplegia). INTERVENTIONS: Initial assessment interview included the WeeFIM, developmental 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 cognition. The AAQ measures the time and assistance required by a child in essential 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: those with diplegia and quadriplegia. Total scores in WeeFIM and FIM as well as domain scores were significantly different between children with diplegia and quadriplegia. Parental amount of assistance on the AAQ was significantly 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. Functional limitations are highly related to requirements for parental assistance.