The Gross Motor Function Classification System Family Report Questionnaire: reliability between special-education teachers and caregivers.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of the Thai Gross Motor Function Classification System Family Report Questionnaire (GMFCS-FR) and the possibility of special-education teachers and caregivers in the community using this system in children with cerebral palsy (CP). METHOD: The reliability was examined by two teachers and two caregivers who classified 21 children with CP aged 2 to 12 years. A GMFCS-FR workshop was organized for raters. The teachers and caregivers classified the mobility of 362 children. The rater reliability was analysed using the weighted kappa coefficient. The possibility of using the GMFCS-FR is reported. The reliability of using the GMFCS-FR in the community was analysed by the intraclass correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The intrarater reliability ranged from 0.91 to 1.00. The interrater reliability between teachers was 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69-0.97) and between caregivers was 0.84 (95% CI 0.70-0.97). Ninety-seven percent of raters used the Thai GMFCS-FR correctly. The overall intraclass correlation coefficient between raters was 0.90 (95% CI 0.88-0.92). INTERPRETATION: The Thai GMFCS-FR is a reliable system for classifying the motor function of young children with CP by teachers and caregivers in the community.

Capacity of adolescents with cerebral palsy on paediatric balance scale and Berg balance scale.

The Berg balance scale (BBS) and the paediatric balance scale (PBS) are reliable tools for measuring balance ability. However, reports of BBS and PBS scores in adolescent cerebral palsy have been limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate functional balance capacities, as tested with the BBS and PBS in adolescents with cerebral palsy, to compare the total PBS and BBS scores between Gross Motor Function Classification System-Expanded and Revised (GMFCS-E&R) levels and to compare the static balance PBS and BBS scores within each GMFCS-E&R level. Fifty-eight school-aged adolescents with cerebral palsy between the ages of 12 and 18 years with GMFCS-E&R levels of I to IV were recruited. The Kruskal-Wallis test was utilized to compare the median scores for the PBS and BBS between the different GMFCS-E&R levels. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to examine the differences in the static balance scores between the PBS and the BBS within the same GMFCS-E&R levels. The results reveal that there were differences in the BBS and PBS scores among the four GMFCS-E&R levels. A significant difference was found between the BBS and PBS scores only among the patients with cerebral palsy and level III GMFCS-E&R. The BBS and PBS are valid and reliable tools for clinical examination and for distinguishing between levels of functional balance in adolescents with cerebral palsy.