The Seated Postural & Reaching Control Test in Cerebral Palsy: A Validation Study

Aim: Children with moderate-severe cerebral palsy (CP) show postural control deficits that affect their daily activities, like reaching. The Seated Postural and Reaching Control test (SP&R-co) was developed to address the need for clinical measures that objectively identify dimensions of postural imbalance and corresponding reaching limitations in children with CP. Methods: SP&R-co documentation was designed for test validity and rater training. Rater and internal consistency were examined using Cronbach's alpha. Reference SP&R-co score sheets of children and rater's scores were used for absolute item-by-item, average inter-rater, and intra-rater reliability. Motor classification systems and performance tests were used for construct and concurrent validity. Results: The SP&R-co scoring showed acceptable-good consistency (alpha = 0.76-0.84). Interrelatedness of SP&R-co items was good-excellent (alpha = 0.82-0.97). The raters demonstrated fair, good, and excellent item-by-item reliability (ICC = 0.41-0.92). Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of SP&R-co dimensions were good-excellent (ICC = 0.68-0.86 and ICC = 0.64-0.95, respectively). Construct and concurrent validity showed moderate-excellent correlations (r = 0.49-0.88). Conclusions: Results provide evidence that the SP&R-co is a reliable and valid test for therapists to objectively examine and quantify seated postural and reaching control in children with CP.