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.
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