Speech and communication classification of children with cerebral palsy: Novice rater agreement and clinical utility.

Purpose: To examine novice inter-rater agreement and clinical utility perspectives for speech and communication classification of children with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: Twenty-one clinicians (speech-language pathologists [SLPs] n = 11; physiotherapists [PTs] n = 5; occupational therapists [OTs] n = 5) novice to the Viking Speech Scale (VSS), Functional Communication Classification System (FCCS), and Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) rated eight unfamiliar children with CP (8-16 years) following classification orientation. Inter-rater agreement was examined between (a) novices, (b) novice SLPs vs. PTs and OTs, and (c) novice vs. expert (kappa statistics). Utility perceptions were scored regarding classification terminology, ease of use, assistive decision-making resources, and construct validity and were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis H-tests.

Result: Rating agreement between novices was substantial (VSS, k = 0.72, 95% CI [0.53-0.92]) to moderate (FCCS, k = 0.44, 95% CI [0.23-0.65]; CFCS, k = 0.45, 95% CI [0.18-0.71]), and almost perfect between novice and expert ratings (VSS, k_w = 0.89, 95% CI [0.86-0.92]; FCCS, k_w = 0.89, 95% CI [0.86-0.92]; CFCS, k_w = 0.86, 95% CI [0.82-0.91]). Statistically significant differences, presented highest to lowest, were found for clinical utility: terminology (VSS, FCCS, CFCS; p = 0.02), assistive decision-making resources (FCCS, VSS, CFCS; p = 0.009), and construct validity (FCCS, CFCS, VSS; p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Novice raters achieved substantial agreement for speech classification, supporting utilisation in clinical, research, and CP register activities. Orientation to communication classification constructs, content, and instructions is recommended for novice raters.