title: Relationship between walk tests and parental reports of walking abilities in children with cerebral palsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the strength of association between 2 clinic-based measures of walking ability, the 1-minute walk test (1MWT) and the six-minute walk test (6MWT), and the parental report of usual walking performance, measured by the ABILOCO-Kids logit score, in children with cerebral palsy (CP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary level outpatient clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children and youth with CP (N=60; 32 boys, 28 girls; mean age, 11.2y [range, 5-18y]), Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level I to IV.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 10-item ABILOCO-Kids questionnaire, the 1MWT, and the 6MWT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ABILOCO-Kids logit scores were significantly correlated with the 1MWT (ρ=.70, P<.01) and the 6MWT (ρ=.70, P<.01) but not with age or sex. Linear models revealed a possibly significant difference in the strength of the relationship of the ABILOCO-Kids logit score with walking distance, depending on GMFCS level (P=.06 1MWT; P=.14 6MWT). The strongest relationship was observed at GMFCS level II, where ABILOCO-Kids score predicted 33% of variance in 1MWT (P=.003) and 31% of 6MWT (P=.003). The weakest relationship was at GMFCS level I, where ABILOCO-Kids score predicted only 5% of the variance in 1MWT (P=.33) and 16% of the variance in 6MWT (P=.08).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental perceptions of their child's walking ability in the community correlate with clinic-based walking tests in ambulatory children with CP, providing evidence of convergent validity for the 1MWT and 6MWT. However, parents report a much wider range of walking abilities in children who function at a high level (GMFCS I) than is reflected by their walk test results.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Jimmy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Anna H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Broadbent
authors.forename: N Susan
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Stott
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*