An international classification of functioning, disability and health-children and youth (ICF-CY) based assessment tool for evaluating impairments, function and participation of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy in special education schools

Abstract

Objectives: To develop an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Children and Youth (ICF-CY) based questionnaire for evaluating impairments, function, and participation of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) in special education schools, and to evaluate the content validity and inter-rater reliability of the questionnaire.

Methodology: An ICF-CY(6-14years) based, 28 items assessment tool for CP was developed in the first phase of the study by three experts. Content validity and inter-rater reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated in the second & third phases. SPSS version 14 was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics (Mean ± SD) were calculated for total scores by age, gender, type of CP, grade/class, hand dominance, and history of epilepsy. Content validity was determined by calculating Item-CVI and Scale-CVI, while Inter-rater reliability was determined using two-way mixed-effects intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC, consistency, single measure). It was carried out in two special education schools affiliated with the Directorate of Special Education, Lahore, from May 2025 to January 2026.

Results: Average I-CVI (0.9069 to 0.9438) were greater than the recommended threshold of 0.78, indicating excellent item-level validity. ICC ranged from 0.751 to 0.989, with a 95% confidence interval indicating moderate to high Reliability.

Conclusion: This preliminary study shows that the ICF-CY-based assessment tool for CP has good content validity and reliability and can be used to carry out routine functional assessment in special education schools.