Strengths and challenges faced by school-aged children with unilateral CP described by the Five To Fifteen parental questionnaire

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe motor and non-motor (e.g. cognitive, social, and behavioral) challenges faced in daily life by children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, parents completed the Five to Fifteen questionnaire and provided demographic information for 46 children aged 6–15 years (mean 11.01 ± 2.89 SD). Results: Most children were reported to have problems in both motor and non-motor domains, ranging from 20 to 92% depending on the domain. Perception and learning were the non-motor functions most commonly reported as challenging (63 and 65%, respectively). The total number of problems was significantly higher in age groups above 9 years. The correlation between all domains was high, but was consistently higher with the fine motor sub-domain, which could be used to predict executive function, perception, memory, and learning outcomes (R²=0.502, 0.642, 0.192, 0.192). Conclusion: Most children with CP have everyday challenges beyond their primary motor deficiencies.

Keywords:

• Cognition
• development
• Five to Fifteen questionnaire
• motor function
• unilateral cerebral palsy

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the families participating in this study.

Declaration of interest

The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper. Authors thank Stiftelsen Frimurarna Barnhuset i Stockholm (2012), Swedish Research Council, and Strategic Research Program in Care Sciences at Karolinska Institutet and Habilitation Services, Stockholm for providing financial support.