Agreement between parents and clinicians for the motor functional classification systems of children with cerebral palsy

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate whether parental ratings of expanded and revised Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS E&R) and Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) had agreement with clinicians' ratings when classifying children with CP to these two well-known classifications of motor functioning and hereby to evaluate intertester reliability of the classification systems between clinicians and parents. METHOD: The process of study was designed to collect data from parents using the GMFCS E&R and MACS. The total participants consisted of 100 children with CP and their parents. The overall agreement between the parents and physiotherapist GMFCS and MACS scores was analysed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The ICC value between parents and physiotherapist was 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95-0.97) for GMFCS and 0.96 (95% CI 0.94-0.97) for MACS and indicated excellent agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The excellent agreement between parents and clinicians indicated that parents and clinicians can talk in the same language for the motor functional classification systems of children with CP if careful administrations are provided.