Context-Dependency of Mobility in Children and Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy: Optimal and Natural Environments

Abstract

According to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), the mobility of individuals with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP) is influenced by the interaction between their health and the personal and environmental contexts in which they conduct their lives. In accord with the ICF, this observational study aimed to analyze and compare the functional mobility of children and adolescents with SCP in both natural environments (places typically encountered in their daily routine) and optimized environments (flat surfaces). The observed effects of the environment suggest that the functional mobility of individuals with cerebral palsy depends on the environmental context. The characteristics of the natural and optimized environments may act as barriers and/or facilitators to covering short and long distances among individuals of different ages with cerebral palsy.