Predictors of participation change in various areas for preschool children with cerebral palsy: a longitudinal study.
Young boys with CP who score low on thinking and self-care lose play opportunities fast—catch them before the six-month slide.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team followed the preschoolers with cerebral palsy for six months. They used parent forms to track how often the kids joined home, school, and community activities.
Then they ran regression tests to see which traits predicted a drop in participation. Age, sex, IQ scores, and daily-living skills went into the model.
What they found
Younger boys with lower mental ages and poor self-care lost the most ground. These factors explained 13–25 % of the drop in joining activities.
Girls and older kids held steady even when skills were low. The gap widened fast—only half a school year.
How this fits with other research
Lipscombe et al. (2016) saw the same group—toddlers with CP—and found early motor skill alone did not doom social life. Communication skill acted as a bridge. Together the papers say: watch both language and self-care, not just walking.
Chen et al. (2013) showed the CP QOL-Child survey is valid for tracking quality of life. Kocher et al. (2015) used similar parent forms, so you can trust the data you collect in clinic.
Smith et al. (2021) linked fine motor to IQ in ADHD kids. P et al. extend the idea to CP: low cognitive scores flag wider participation risk, not just pencil problems.
Why it matters
If a three-year-old boy with CP scores below age level on cognition and feeding, plan extra participation goals now. Add communication and daily-living targets before the decline shows up on your six-month review. Share the risk profile with parents and teachers so they schedule inclusive activities early rather than waiting for ‘more readiness.’
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study identifies potential predictors of participation changes in various areas for preschool children with cerebral palsy (CP). Eighty children with CP (2-6 years) were enrolled. Seven potential predictors were identified: age; sex; socioeconomic status, CP subtype; cognitive function, Function Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM), and motor composite variable from 5 motor factors (gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) level; bimanual fine motor function level; selective motor control score; Modified Ashworth Scale score; and Spinal Alignment and Range of Motion Measure). Outcome was assessed at baseline and at 6-month follow-up using the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation (APCP) including diversity and intensity scores in the areas of play (PA), skill development (SD), active physical recreation, social activities (SA), and total areas. Dependent variables were change scores of APCP scores at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Regression analyses shows age and sex together predicted for APCP-total, APCP-SD diversity and APCP-total intensity changes (r(2)=0.13-0.25, p<0.001); cognitive function and WeeFIM were negative predictors for APCP-SA and APCP-PA diversity changes, respectively. CP subtype, motor composite variable, and socioeconomic status predicted for APCP changes in some areas. Findings suggest that young boys with poor cognitive function and daily activity predicted most on participation changes.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.11.005