Gross motor function measure for children with cerebral palsy

The aim of this study was to compare the pattern of motor dysfunction in Hong Kong Chinese children with spastic diplegic and the athetoid type of cerebral palsy (CP) by the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM). The GMFM was first tested on its content validity in differentiating the items suitable for testing on upper and lower limb function, followed by test–retest and inter-rater reliability studies, before it was used in a within-subject experiment comparing upper and lower gross motor function in two types of CP, respectively. Children with spastic diplegia (n=18) and with athetosis (n=19) were recruited from three pre-school centres, schools for physically handicapped children and centres of the Hong Kong Spastic Association in Hong Kong. The GMFM, a standardized outcome measure of the motor function in children with CP, was used in comparing mean scores of motor tasks involving upper limbs and those not involving upper limbs in the athetoid and spastic cerebral palsied children. The scores were significantly higher for the children in the spastic diplegic group, but there was no significant difference in the performance of static and dynamic motor tasks of the GMFM between the children in the two groups.Department of Rehabilitation Science