Functional changes in children, adolescents, and young adults with cerebral palsy.
Teens and young adults with CP lose functional skills each year—plan for annual, validated check-ups instead of relying on parent recall.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Krakovsky et al. (2007) followed 30 people with cerebral palsy for one year. Ages ranged from 11 to 29 years.
The team used standard tests to score crawling, standing, walking, and eating. They also asked about anxiety.
What they found
Every skill got worse. Crawling, standing, walking, and eating scores all dropped.
Most families also reported high anxiety. Parent memory alone missed these losses.
How this fits with other research
Chen et al. (2013) seems to disagree. They saw small gains in balance and coordination after 12 weeks. The key gap is time. Their study lasted weeks, not years. Short strength training can lift scores, but the long slope still points down.
Järvinen et al. (2024) lengthens the picture. They tracked adults to age 40 and found the same slide in motor skills and rising obesity. Gina’s one-year dip is the first part of that 40-year curve.
Coceski et al. (2021) answers Gina’s call. Gina warned that parent recall hides decline. Monika gave a fix: use motor-free WISC-V sub-tests each year to keep scores honest.
Why it matters
If you serve teens with CP, do not trust “he seems the same.” Schedule yearly tests like the GMFM or motor-free WISC-V. Spot the drop early, add strength or gait training, and teach families to watch skills, not memories.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Pull out last year’s GMFM scores for each teen on your caseload and re-test to see if any skill areas have slipped.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with multiple handicaps, including cerebral palsy (CP), often lose or regress in their functional ability through adolescence and adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine functional and psychological changes in children, adolescents and young adults with CP. A retrospective chart review and a prospective telephone interview of 30 patients (11-29 years, M = 16.8, S.D. = 4.9) was conducted. Seventy-three percent of the patients were male (n = 22) and 83% (n = 25) had spastic CP. According to the McNemar's test, four significant functional losses were found including crawling (p = 0.03), standing independently (p = 0.05), walking with or without assistance (p = 0.014), and eating by mouth (p = 0.01). Standing function loss was significantly related to walking function loss (p = 0.02). Sixty-three percent (n = 19) of the patients experienced anxiety and 10% (n = 3) reported depression. Results of this study indicate that a validated yearly assessment tool is needed to measure functional and emotional changes in children with CP rather than relying on parent recall. This data may also lead to a review of the current physical therapy national standards.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2007 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2006.03.005