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Overview of Motor Growth Curves
GMFM scores of a sample of over 650 Ontario children with cerebral palsy with varying GMFCS levels have been used to create five Motor Growth Curves. These curves describe the patterns of motor development of this sample of children, grouped by GMFCS level and are similar to the growth charts that are used to follow the height and weight of children as they grow. These "growth curves" help doctors, therapists, and families to understand how the gross motor abilities of children in each level change with age, and to estimate a child's future motor capabilities including how much independence children are likely to achieve.
The Motor Growth Curves present a plot of GMFM-66 scores (on the vertical axis) by age (across the horizontal axis) for each of the five GMFCS levels. They were developed from data obtained from a large, population-based sample of children with cerebral palsy (Rosenbaum et al., 2002). On first assessment using the GMFM-66, a child's relative ranking compared to children in the population-based sample can be determined. With repeated scoring over time, it is possible to determine whether a child is functioning as well as expected, better than expected or more poorly then expected.
To download the Motor Growth Curves, either individually for a specific GMFCS level or for all 5 curves together in one document, click here.
For more information:
Rosenbaum, P., Walter, S., Hanna, S., Palisano, R., Russell, D., Raina, P., Wood, E., Bartlett, D., & Galuppi, B. (2002). Prognosis for gross motor function in cerebral palsy: Creation of motor development curves. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288 (11), 1357-1363.
