Browsing by Author "Himmelmann, K"
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- Access to Intrathecal Baclofen Treatment for Children with Cerebral Palsy in European Countries: An SCPE Survey Reveals Important DifferencesPublication . Himmelmann, K; Påhlman, M; Andersen, GL; Vik, T; Virella, D; Horridge, K; Neubauer, D; Arnaud, C; Rackauskaite, G; de la Cruz, JAim: The aim is to study access to intrathecal baclofen (ITB) for children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Europe, as an indicator of access to advanced care. Methods: Surveys were sent to CP registers, clinical networks, and pump manufacturers. Enquiries were made about ITB treatment in children born in 1990 to 2005 by sex, CP type, level of gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) and age at the start of treatment. Access to ITB was related to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and % GDP spent on health. Results: In 2011 population-based data from Sweden, Norway, England, Portugal, Slovenia, and Denmark showed that 114 (3.4%) of 3,398 children with CP were treated with ITB, varying from 0.4 to 4.7% between centers. The majority of the children were at GMFCS levels IV-V and had bilateral spastic CP. In Sweden, dyskinetic CP was the most commonly treated subtype. Boys were more often treated with ITB than girls (p = 0.014). ITB was reported to be available for children with CP in 25 of 43 countries. Access to ITB was associated with a higher GDP and %GDP spent on health (p < 0.01). Updated information from 2019 showed remaining differences between countries in ITB treatment and sex difference in treated children was maintained. Conclusion: There is a significant difference in access to ITB for children with CP across Europe. More boys than girls are treated. Access to ITB for children with CP is associated with GDP and percent of GDP spent on health in the country.
- Classification Systems of Communication for use in Epidemiological Surveillance of Children with Cerebral PalsyPublication . Virella, D; Pennington, L; Andersen, GL; Andrada, MG; Greitane, A; Himmelmann, K; Prasauskiene, A; Rackauskaite, G; De La Cruz, J; Colver, AChildren with cerebral palsy (CP) often experience communication difficulties. We aimed to identify a classification system for communication of children with CP suitable for epidemiological surveillance. METHOD: Systems to classify the communication of children with CP were identified. The Communication Function Classification System (CFCS), Functional Communication Classification System (FCCS), and Viking Speech Scale (VSS) were chosen for further investigation and translated. They were administered to 155 children aged 4 to 13 years with CP (across all motor severity levels) from eight European countries. Children's parents/carers, speech therapists, and other health professionals applied the systems through direct observation. Other professionals applied them from case notes only. The systems were assessed for agreement, stability, ease, and feasibility of application. RESULTS: Test-retest stability was moderate-to-high for VSS (k=0.66-0.88), CFCS (k=uncomputed-0.91), and FCCS (k=0.52-0.91). Overall interrater agreement was fair to very good for every classification system. VSS achieved the best agreement between parents/carers and speech therapists. VSS was considered the easiest instrument to apply. INTERPRETATION: Because of its ease of use by a range of healthcare professionals, the VSS should be considered for CP registers which intend to survey speech intelligibility. For a wider assessment of communication, the CFCS or FCC should be considered
- Development of The Viking Speech Scale to Classify the Speech of Children with Cerebral PalsyPublication . Pennington, L; Virella, D; Mjøen, T; Andrada, MG; Murray, J; Colver, A; Himmelmann, K; Rackauskaite, G; Greitane, A; Prasauskiene, A; Andersen, G; Cruz, JSurveillance registers monitor the prevalence of cerebral palsy and the severity of resulting impairments across time and place. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy can affect children’s speech production and limit their intelligibility. We describe the development of a scale to classify children’s speech performance for use in cerebral palsy surveillance registers, and its reliability across raters and across time. Speech and language therapists, other healthcare professionals and parents classified the speech of 139 children with cerebral palsy (85 boys, 54 girls; mean age 6.03 years, SD 1.09) from observation and previous knowledge of the children. Another group of health professionals rated children’s speech from information in their medical notes. With the exception of parents, raters reclassified children’s speech at least four weeks after their initial classification. Raters were asked to rate how easy the scale was to use and how well the scale described the child’s speech production using Likert scales. Inter-rater reliability was moderate to substantial (k > .58 for all comparisons). Test–retest reliability was substantial to almost perfect for all groups (k > .68). Over 74% of raters found the scale easy or very easy to use; 66% of parents and over 70% of health care professionals judged the scale to describe children’s speech well or very well. We conclude that the Viking Speech Scale is a reliable tool to describe the speech performance of children with cerebral palsy, which can be applied through direct observation of children or through case note review.