Correlation among four assessments of hand function in children with cerebral palsy.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationships among four hand function assessments in children with cerebral palsy (CP), capturing capacity, activity and participation levels under the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health.

Methods: Twenty-four children with CP aged 2-6 years were recruited. Fine motor ability was evaluated using the Fine Motor Scale of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition (PDMS-2-FM). Hand-skill performance was evaluated using the Assessment of Children's Hand Skills (ACHS). The parents completed two questionnaires capturing perceived hand-skill performance and hand-use participation. Spearman's ρ correlation coefficients were performed.

Results: The PDMS-2-FM grasping and visual-motor integration scores moderately correlated with the hand-skill performance scores. Its grasping scores had a small correlation with the parent-perceived performance scores in play. The PDMS-2-FM visual-motor integration and overall fine motor scores exhibited small-to-moderate correlations with the recreational participation scores. The self-care and educational participation scores had moderate correlations with the hand-skill performance scores. The parent-perceived performance scores in activity of daily living correlated moderately with the self-care, recreational, and domestic life and community participation scores.

Conclusions: Moderate and varied correlations among the four assessments indicate the representation of different aspects of hand functions at the activity and participation levels, suggesting a need for combination use.