Activities and participation of 9- to 13-year-old children with cerebral palsy.

OBJECTIVE To describe the activities and participation of children with cerebral palsy and to examine the relationship with personal factors and disease characteristics. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of a University Medical Center in The Netherlands. SUBJECTS One hundred and ten children: 70 boys, 40 girls, mean (SD) age 11 years and 3 months (20 months). OUTCOME MEASURES Activities and participation, described in the domains of mobility, self-care, domestic life, social life and communication, measured with the Gross Motor Function Measure, the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. RESULTS Multiple linear regression models showed that the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) was strongly associated with mobility (explained variance 87-92%), self-care and domestic life. Apart from the GMFCS, cognitive impairment and limb distribution were less important but also significantly associated with self-care and domestic life (explained variance 65-81%). Cognitive impairment and epilepsy were the most important factors associated with social life and communication (explained variance 54-75%). CONCLUSION Activities and participation can, to a large extent, be explained by only a few associated factors.