Disabilities arising from CP, associated with the lack of environmental adaptations, may result in both aggravation of the disability and / or the child's limitations in performing functional activities, as well as in restrictions to their participation. Therefore it is necessary to assess functionality in order to better understand the activities that will be carried out, as well as the conditions for participation in meaningful contexts for the child's development. The objectives of this study consisted of assessing the functioning, classifying performance and capacity, and investigating the participation of children with spastic diparesis CP. The study involved three ambulatory children diagnosed with spastic diparesis CP, aged nine to thirteen years, and their mothers. The data were collected through interviews with the participants based on a structured script, and functioning assessment of children, using an instrument based on ICFDH. The results revealed important limitations related mostly to the mobility activities and self-care of children with GMFCS II and III; and showed slight increase in performance difficulty when compared to the capacity of the participants. The instrument based on ICFDH was shown to be useful and efficient for investigating the function of school-age children with spastic diparesis CP, because it allowed for assessing capacity and performance and enabled the identification of limitations in carrying out activities as well as some restrictions to the children's participation.
Special Education; Assessment; Functioning; Spastic Diparesis
