Cross-cultural validation in Greek and reliability of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System in children with cerebral palsy.

AIM

To investigate the reliability and validity of the Greek version of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System (EDACS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP).

METHODS

The sample of the study included children with CP, aged 3-18 years and classified into Levels I-V of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Parents of children with CP and speech and language therapists (SLTs) with a minimum of 5 years of clinical experience were recruited. Inter-rater reliability (IRR) between SLTs and between SLT and parent was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Validity was evaluated by investigating the potential association between the EDACS and Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) and GMFCS, using ordinal logistic regression.

RESULTS

One hundred twenty-one children with CP (mean age 8.2 ± 4.1), 72 males, GMFCS Levels I-V were included in the study. Ninety-one parents of children with CP (mean age 8.8 ± 4.2), 54 males and 8 experienced SLTs, assessed the eating and drinking abilities of the children. The IRR between SLTs was excellent (ICC = 0.94), and between SLTs and parents was high (ICC = 0.90). Both CFCS and GMFCS were positive predictors for EDACS.

CONCLUSIONS

The Greek version of EDACS is a valid and reliable tool and it can be used to classify eating and drinking ability in Greek children with CP.