title: Does parent report measure performance? A study of the construct validity of the Functional Mobility Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Parental report is often relied on to measure performance of activities in children with cerebral palsy (CP). This study examined whether the Functional Mobility Scale (FMS) accurately reflects performance of mobility in children with CP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen children with spastic CP (11 males, seven females; mean age 12 y 8 mo, SD 2 y 8 mo, range 8-17 y) were recruited from a special development school. Children were in Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels II (n=5), III (n=4), or IV (n=9), and had quadriplegia (n=9), diplegia (n=7), or hemiplegia (n=2). The children's mobility was observed directly around and outside the home and at school and their mobility methods were recorded. The parent's FMS rating was obtained on the telephone by a physiotherapist. Agreement between direct observation and the FMS rating was examined using quadratic weighted kappa (kappa) statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Agreement between direct observation and the FMS was as follows: FMS 5m kappa=0.71, 45%; FMS 50m kappa=0.76, 94%; FMS 500m kappa=0.74, 95%. Differences in the range and number of mobility methods were observed by GMFCS level across environmental settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Substantial agreement was found between FMS ratings and direct observation, particularly over longer distances, providing evidence of the validity of the FMS as a measure of performance in children with CP.
authors: McMaster Child Health Research Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. harvey.adrienne@gmail.com
authors: Adrienne
authors: A
authors: Harvey
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Baker
authors: Meg E
authors: ME
authors: Morris
authors: Janet
authors: J
authors: Hough
authors: Marty
authors: M
authors: Hughes
authors: H Kerr
authors: HK
authors: Graham
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D015588:Observer Variation; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors