Documenting change with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure for children with cerebral palsy

To assess the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure's (COPM) ability to document change over 3 years in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

This was a prospective study with ambulatory children with CP, aged 2 to 6 years. Caregivers set one to three COPM goals which were rescored annually over 3 years. A ceiling effect for performance goals was operationalized as a score of 8. A Wald χ² generalized estimating equations model adjusted for age, sex, and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level, evaluated change over time.

In total, 124 children (47 [37.9%] females, 77 [62.1%] males; mean age 3y 11mo [SD 1y 1mo]; GMFCS level I [n=78, 62.9%], II [n=21, 16.9%], and III [n=25, 20.2%]) were set 345 COPM goals at baseline. By Year 3, 106 participants (85.5%) rescored 287 of the goals (83.2%). Performance scores increased between baseline mean (SD) 2.93 (0.56), Year 1 5.98 (0.58) with 34.8% at ceiling; Year 2 6.74 (0.60) 48.3% at ceiling; and Year 3 7.37 (0.60) 59.6% at ceiling (Wald χ² [3]=607.18, p<0.001). Satisfaction scores increased between baseline 4.42 (0.59), Year 1 6.82 (0.60) with 48% at ceiling; Year 2 7.53 (0.60) with 62.2% at ceiling (Wald χ² [3]=208.48, p<0.001); with no significant increase by Year 3 7.82 (0.62) with 66.9% at ceiling.

COPM performance scores increased steadily over 3 years. By Year 2, a ceiling effect was seen in about half of the goals. The COPM may have utility to measure change over 3 years; periodic resetting of the descriptors of goal success are required to minimize ceiling.