Reproducibility and validity of the Functional Communication Classification System for young children with cerebral...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Rehabilitation
• Communication Sciences
• Developmental Disabilities

Background:

• Cerebral palsy (CP) significantly impacts communication in young children.
• Accurate assessment tools are crucial for early intervention and research.
• The Functional Communication Classification System (FCCS) is a potential tool for evaluating communication in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the interrater agreement and concurrent validity of the Functional Communication Classification System (FCCS).
• To assess the FCCS in children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 2 and 3 years.

Main Methods:

• Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and parents rated FCCS for 31 children with CP.
• Interrater agreement was measured using weighted Cohen's kappa statistic.
• Concurrent validity was assessed against pragmatic function, motor skills, and associated impairments using Spearman's correlation.

Main Results:

• Excellent interrater agreement was found between SLP and parent FCCS ratings (k_w = 0.94).
• Strong correlations were observed between FCCS and pragmatic function (r_s = -0.83), intellectual function (r_s = 0.89), and primary expressive communication mode (r_s = 0.92).
• Good to fair correlations were found with gross motor (r_s = 0.72), visual impairment (r_s = 0.70), and fine motor function (r_s = 0.53).

Conclusions:

• The FCCS demonstrates excellent interrater agreement and validity for communication assessment in 2- and 3-year-old children with CP.
• The FCCS is a suitable instrument for surveillance and research in pediatric CP.
• Findings support the FCCS's utility in classifying communication abilities and associated functional domains in young children with CP.