Clinimetric properties of the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation in children with cerebral palsy.
A 0.7-point or 17% jump on the APCP marks a real participation gain for preschoolers with CP.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation (APCP) in kids with cerebral palsy.
They checked if the tool really catches real-life changes in play, chores, and social time.
Parents filled the form twice so the researchers could see how well it picks up small gains.
What they found
The APCP passed the clinimetric test.
A jump of 0.7 intensity points or 17% more activities shows a true, meaningful gain for the child.
In plain words, when the score moves that much, you can trust the child is actually doing more.
How this fits with other research
Dang et al. (2015) looked at the same participation idea but in teens. They warn that early pain, behavior woes, and parenting stress can drag participation down years later.
The two papers talk about the same CP group, just at different ages. Chia-ling et al. gives you a ruler; Mô et al. tells you what to watch while they grow.
Hong et al. (2021) also vetted a preschool CP caregiver scale in Arabic. Both studies prove parent-report tools can be reliable when therapists pick the right cut-off.
Why it matters
You now have a number to trust. If APCP scores rise 0.7 intensity or 17% diversity, celebrate and keep the plan. If scores stall, check pain, stress, and behavior like Mô et al. suggest, then adjust. Use the same tool before and after any therapy so your data means something to families and payers.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study examines the criterion-related validity and clinimetric properties of the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation (APCP) for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Eighty-two children with CP (age range, two to five years and 11 months) and their caregivers participated in this study. The APCP consists of diversity and intensity scores in the areas of play (PA), skill development (SD), active physical recreation (AP), social activities (SA), and total areas. Tests were administered at baseline and at six-month follow-up. Concurrent and predictive validities were identified by assessing the strength of correlations between APCP scores and criterion-related measures--the 66-item Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-66) and Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM). Responsiveness was measured by standardized response mean (SRM). Minimal detectable change (MDC) at the 95% confidence level (MDC95) and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) were analyzed. The APCP with GMFM-66 and WeeFIM had fair to excellent concurrent validity (r=0.39-0.85) and predictive validity (r=0.46-0.82). The SRM values of the APCP diversity and intensity scales in all areas were 0.8-1.3. The MDC95 and MCID ranges for all areas (i.e., PA, SD, AP, SA, and total areas) were 0.1-0.7 and 0.4-1.2 points for intensity scores, respectively, and 4-17% and 10-19% for diversity scores, respectively. Therefore, the APCP scale was markedly responsive to change. Clinicians and researchers can use these clinimetric APCP data to determine whether a change score represents a "true" or clinically meaningful effect at post-treatment and follow-up.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.01.026