Psychometric Properties of Functional Balance Assessment in Children With Cerebral Palsy

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 745-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue-Mae Gan ◽  
Li-Chen Tung ◽  
Yue-Her Tang ◽  
Chun-Hou Wang

Background. Children with cerebral palsy often suffer from a lack of balance compared with typically developing children. Because balance capacity is relevant to functional activities, reliable and valid functional balance measures are crucial for the pediatric clinical setting. Objective. This study examined the reliability and validity of 3 functional balance measures. Methods. Thirty children aged 60 to 142 months with Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels of I to IV were recruited. For test-retest reliability, the same physical therapist administered the Functional Reach Test (FRT), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Timed Up and Go (TUG) twice. For interrater reliability, the testing processes were video recorded and later scored by another therapist. For convergent validity, children with cerebral palsy received the Gross Motor Function Measures (GMFM), walking speed, and 10-second sit-to-stand test within 1 week and the results evaluated. Results. The 3 functional balance measures had excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] >0.95) and interrater reliability (ICC = 0.98-1.00). With regard to convergent validity, the BBS and the TUG were highly correlated with GMFM total score, walking speed, and the 10-second sit-to-stand test. The discriminate validity indicates that the FRT can distinguish children with cerebral palsy with different GMFCS levels, whereas the BBS total score and TUG failed to distinguish between children with cerebral palsy with GMFCS levels of I and II. Conclusion. The 3 functional balance measures are simple, valid, and reliable for examining children with cerebral palsy and are thus suitable for clinical practice.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela V. Bonfert ◽  
Evelyn Jelesch ◽  
A. Sebastian Schroeder ◽  
Julia Hartmann ◽  
Helene Koenig ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Gait Outcome Assessment List (GOAL) is a patient or caregiver-reported assessment of gait-related function across different domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) developed for ambulant children with cerebral palsy (CP). So far, the questionnaire is only available in English. The aim of this study was to translate the GOAL into German and to evaluate its reliability and validity by studying the association between GOAL scores and gross motor function as categorized by the gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The GOAL was administered to primary caregivers of n = 91 children and adolescents with CP (n = 32, GMFCS levels I; n = 27, GMFCS level II; and n = 32, GMFCS level III) and n = 15 patients were capable of independently completing the whole questionnaire (GMFCS level I). For assessing test–retest reliability, the questionnaire was completed for a second time 2 weeks after the first by the caregivers of n = 36 patients. Mean total GOAL scores decreased significantly with increasing GMFCS levels with scores of 71 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 66.90–74.77) for GMFCS level I, 56 (95% CI: 50.98–61.86) for GMFCS level II, and 45 (95% CI: 40.58–48.48) for GMFCS level III, respectively. In three out of seven domains, caregivers rated their children significantly lower than children rated themselves. The test–retest reliability was excellent as was internal consistency given the GOAL total score. The German GOAL may serve as a much needed patient-reported outcome measure of gait-related function in ambulant children and adolescents with CP.


1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristie F. Bjornson ◽  
Catherine S. Graubert ◽  
John F. McLaughlin ◽  
Cheryl I. Kerfeld ◽  
Elaine M. Clark

2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 873-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne J Russell ◽  
Lisa M Avery ◽  
Peter L Rosenbaum ◽  
Parminder S Raina ◽  
Stephen D Walter ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Purpose. This study examined the reliability, validity, and responsiveness to change of measurements obtained with a 66-item version of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) developed using Rasch analysis. Subjects and Methods. The validity of measurements obtained with the GMFM-66 was assessed by examining the hierarchy of items and the GMFM-66 scores for different groups of children from a stratified random community-based sample of 537 children with cerebral palsy (CP). A subset of 228 children who had been reassessed at 12 months was used to test the hypothesis that children who are young (<5 years of age) and have “mild” CP will demonstrate greater change in GMFM-66 scores than children who are older (≥5 years of age) and whose CP is more severe. Data from an additional 19 children with CP who were assessed twice, one week apart, were used to examine test-retest reliability. Results. The overall changes in GMFM-66 scores over 12 months and a time × severity × age interaction supported our hypotheses. Test-retest reliability was high (intraclass correlation coefficient=.99). Conclusion and Discussion. This study demonstrated that the GMFM-66 has good psychometric properties. By providing a hierarchical structure and interval scaling, the GMFM-66 can provide a better understanding of motor development for children with CP than the 88 item GMFM and can improve the scoring and interpretation of data obtained with the GMFM.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Azade Riyahi ◽  
Mehdi Rassafiani ◽  
Zahra Nobakht ◽  
Hosseinali Abdolrazaghi ◽  
Rahmatollah Moradzadeh

Background/Aims The ability to eat and drink is the most important factor in health, survival and longevity. Children with cerebral palsy can suffer from severe dysphagia, which can lead to a high risk of aspiration and choking. As classifying eating and drinking ability in children with cerebral palsy is important in research and treatment, the aim of this study was to determine the cross-cultural validation and reliability of the Persian version of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System. Methods After translation procedures, the face validity, content validity, test–retest reliability and interrater reliability of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System were evaluated. In total, 130 parents of children with cerebral palsy and 34 therapists participated in the evaluation of the scale's reliability. The 73 boys and 57 girls with cerebral palsy were aged 3–20 years (mean age 4.4 years) and had various types of cerebral palsy. They were classified according to the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System by both their parents and the therapists. Results The overall results indicated that the words and sentences used were simple, clear, understandable, relevant and necessary. The intraclass correlation coefficients for test–retest reliability for parents, occupational therapists and speech therapists were 0.98, 0.98 and 0.995, respectively. The interrater reliability between parents and occupational therapists was 0.96, between parents and speech therapists was 0.95, and between occupational therapists and speech therapists was 0.985. Conclusions The Persian version of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System seems to be valid and reliable. This system may be used to evaluate children with cerebral palsy.


Author(s):  
Edward James Gorgon ◽  
Gilbert Madriaga ◽  
Minerva Gomez-Cailao ◽  
Levin Abdon ◽  
Mary Boniquit

Purpose: The ability to maintain standing balance with a moving base of support and while making rapid postural adjustments is important for independence in various functional activities. Clinical tests and measures have not addressed this ability in children with disability. This pilot study examined the feasibility and reliability of the Four Square Step Test (FSST) as a test of dynamic balance in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: Four children with CP (Gross Motor Function Classification Scale levels I-II) were tested on the FSST by 3 assessors on the first occasion (interrater reliability) and repeat-tested by 1 assessor after 2 weeks (test-retest reliability). Six children with typical development (TD) were tested on a separate occasion to explore any between-group difference in performance. Results: The FSST was easy to setup, required no specialized equipment, could be completed in 5 minutes, and might be carried out by clinicians with limited experience in pediatric therapy. It demonstrated excellent interrater reliability (ICC = 0.832) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.979) in children with CP. Compared with FSST times for children with TD (mean = 9.12 ± 2.67 seconds), times for children with CP (mean = 18.38 ± 9.02 seconds) were significantly slower (p = 0.019, Mann-Whitney U = -2.345). Conclusions and Recommendations: The pilot study provides initial evidence on the potential usefulness of the FSST as a test of dynamic standing balance in children with CP. This warrants further investigation of the clinimetric properties of the FSST using an adequate sample size.


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