Manual ability classification system for children with cerebral palsy in a school setting and its relationship to home self-care activities.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim in this study was to investigate the relationship between (a) the manual abilities of children with cerebral palsy (CP), assessed with the Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) in a school rehabilitation setting, and (b) the children's performance of self-care activities at home, assessed with the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). In addition, we assessed the interobserver reliability of the MACS. METHOD: Sixty-one children with CP were included (mean age = 10.3 yr, range = 5-14). The MACS was classified by 2 independent raters. The PEDI was scored in a structured interview. RESULTS: The Spearman correlation coefficient between the MACS and the self-care domain of the PEDI Caregiver Assistance Scale was high and statistically significant (r = .72). The interobserver reliability of the MACS was good (weighted kappa = .86). CONCLUSION: The MACS is a reliable instrument in a school environment and is related to the performance of daily life self-care activities at home.