Investigation of the Relationship Between Activity Performance in the School Settings and Occupational Performance of High School Students with Cerebral Palsy

Occupational performance, including the performance of both physical and cognitive/behavioral activities, has been to be a strong predictor of school performance and participation. This study was to investigate the relationship between the activity performance in the school settings and occupational performance of high school students with cerebral palsy. A sample of thirty school aged children with cerebral palsy (33.3% girls) and their teachers were recruited in the study. The occupational performance was assessed with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and the activity performance in school setting was assessed with the School Function Assessment-Turkish version (SFA-T) which divides activity performance into performance of physical activities and cognitive/behavioral activities. Pearson Correlation coefficient analysis was used to determine the relation between the COPM and SFA-T. According to the analysis, there is a significant relationship between COPM (performance score) with task support, activity performance and participation subscales of SFA (r = 0.451, p = 0.021; r = 0.521; p = 0.019; r = 0.442; p = 0.002 respectively). In addition, there is no relationship between COPM (satisfaction score) with SFA subtests (p > 0.05). The school participation of students with cerebral palsy is significant for inclusive education. There is a significant relationship between occupational performance with activity performance in school settings of students with cerebral palsy. Future studies should be directed towards revealing the environmental factors that enable and restrict full participation of the students with cerebral palsy in various community environments. A better understanding of these patterns is essential for the development of appropriate and effective intervention programs aimed at increasing participation of these students.