Abstract

Background. Mental impairment associated with infantile cerebral palsy affects approx. 30% of the children and is a serious risk factor influencing the course of functional education and the final functional outcome. The aim of this study was to carry out a functional assessment of motor skills of children with bilateral hemiplegia and intellectual handicaps with respect to locomotion, mobility and dexterity A further goal was to determine the relationship between the degree of intellectual handicap and the functional status ofthe children. Material and methods. The study involved 31 children (16 boys and 15 girls) aged 8-16 years with infantile cerebral palsy presen-ting as bilateral hemiplegia with mental impairment. The children were divided into three groups based on the severity of intellectual impairment (moderate, marked and severe). The paediatric version of the Functional Assessment of Patients scale was used for the functional assessment. We chose three domains: locomotion, mobility and dexterity. Two assessments were carried out 12 months apart. Results. The overall score as well as the domain scores decreased with increasing intellectual handicap. This obsenation ap-plied to the baseline and final assessment alike. However, the degree of functional change between the assessments was not si-gnificantly related to the level of mental impairment. Conclusions. The degree of mental impairment In children with bilateral hemiplegia is strongly correlated with their functional status in the locomotion, mobility and dexterity domains. The degree of change in functional status assessed with the basie questions ofthe paediatric modification of the Functional Assessment of Patients scale was not significantly associated with the se-yerity of intellectual impairment.

Key words:

infantile cerebral palsy, mental impairment, functional evaluation