title: Family ecology of young children with cerebral palsy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Family ecology in early childhood may influence children's activity and participation in daily life. The aim of this study was to describe family functioning, family expectations of their children, family support to their children, and supports for families of young children with cerebral palsy (CP) based on children's gross motor function level.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 398 children with CP (mean age = 44.9 months) and their parents residing in the USA and Canada. Parents completed four measures of family ecology, the Family Environment Scale (FES), Family Expectations of Child (FEC), Family Support to Child (FSC) and Family Support Scale (FSS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median scores on the FES indicated average to high family functioning and the median score on the FSS indicated that families had helpful family supports. On average, parents reported high expectations of their children on the FEC and strong support to their children on the FSC. On the FES, higher levels of achievement orientation were reported by parents of children in Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level II than parents of children in level I, and higher levels of control were reported by parents of children in level I than parents of children in level IV. On the FEC, parents of children with limited gross motor function (level V) reported lower expectations than parents of children at all other levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family ecology, including family strengths, expectations, interests, supports and resources, should be discussed when providing interventions and supports for young children with CP and their families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Mercer University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: LaForme Fiss
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Chiarello
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bartlett
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Palisano
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jeffries
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Almasri
authors.forename: H-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: cerebral palsy; children; family ecology; family environment; family expectations; family functioning; family supports