title: The relationship between gross motor function and participation restriction in children with cerebral palsy: an exploratory analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Children with cerebral palsy (CP) experience a variety of functional limitations depending on the severity of their condition that impact on their participation in day-to-day activities.
  
  
  METHODS
  The gross motor function and participation restrictions experienced by 60 ambulant children with CP (mean age 11.04 years) were assessed using the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88) and the Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire - Cerebral Palsy (LAQ-CP).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant negative correlation existed between the GMFM-88 and the LAQ-CP (r = -0.52, P < 0.001). Significant relationships were also identified between the GMFM-88 and the physical independence, mobility, economic burden and social integration domains of the LAQ-CP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In ambulatory children with CP, better physical function is associated with a lesser impact of disability; however, the relationship between function and participation is complex. Measures of participation restriction may assist with goal setting appropriate to the specific needs of the child and family.
authors.affiliation: Musgrave Park Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McDowell
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McDonough
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires