Article

Participation in home, extracurricular, and community activities is a
desired outcome of rehabilitation services for children and young people with
cerebral palsy (CP). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of
age and gross motor function on participation among children and young people
with CP. METHOD: Five hundred participants (277 males, 223 females) were grouped
by age and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level. There were
291 children aged 6 to 12 years and 209 young people aged 13 to 21 years. There
were 128 participants in GMFCS level I, 220 in levels II/III, and 152 in levels
IV/V. Participants completed the Children's Assessment of Participation and
Enjoyment to measure number of activities (diversity) and how often they were
performed (intensity) in the past 4 months. RESULTS: Children had higher overall
participation diversity and intensity than young people (p<0.001). Children and
young people in GMFCS level I had the highest overall participation, followed by
children and young people in levels II/III and IV/V. Children had higher
participation in recreational (p<0.001) but not formal (such as team sports or
clubs) or physical activities. Children (p<0.01) and young people (p<0.001) in
level I had the highest participation in physical activities; diversity and
intensity were generally low. INTERPRETATION: The findings provide evidence of
the effect of age and gross motor function on participation of children and young
people with CP. Low participation in physical activities may have implications
for fitness and health, especially for children and young people in GMFCS levels
IV and V.

Langue : ANGLAIS