Does the Receptive Language Development Affect the Functional Independence Levels in Children with Cerebral Palsy?

AbstractLanguage and speech disorders are seen in 31-88% of the children with Cerebral Palsy (CP). As visual, auditory, sensory disorders are common in children with CP, these disorders may cause negative factors for language development. For this reason, in addition to physical assessment, developmental assessments should also include detailed assessment of all language and speech functions. Therefore; this study aimed to assess the relation between functional capacity and receptive language development in children with CP by answering to the question: Do the receptive language development affect the functional independence levels in children with CP? The study included 65 children with CP. Language development was assessed by Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and functional independence by Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM). Receptive language development and subsection of WeeFIM; communication, social perception and total score had significant relation between each other (p