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Background: Family empowerment in families of young children with cerebral palsy (CP) is an important consideration because the first few years of life can be overwhelming for parents. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between family empowerment, fine motor (FM), gross motor (GM) and cognitive development in children with CP who were under 3 years of age. Methods: Forty‐one children with a mean age of 23.8 months participated in this study. The Family Empowerment Scale (FES) was completed by the participants' parents, whereas the FM, GM and cognitive subscales of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third edition (B‐III) were administered by physical therapists. Results: Statistically significant positive correlations were found between the FES total and B‐III raw scores for FM, GM and cognitive subscales with coefficients ranging from 0.35 to 0.41. Significant relationships were also found between the FES Community subscale and the B‐III FM, GM and cognitive subscales. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of a relationship between family empowerment and FM, GM and cognitive abilities in young children with CP, with a greater severity of impairments related to lower levels of caregiver empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to investigate differences in Early Clinical Assessment of Balance (ECAB) scores within children with cerebral palsy (CP) with different Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels and between children with CP and typical development (TD) who are under three years of age. Methods: The ECAB was administered to fifty children (13 with TD, 16 with GMFCS level II, 11 with GMFCS level III, 10 with GMFCS level III). Results: The group of children of TD had significantly higher scores than all groups of children with CP. There were significant differences in ECAB within the groups of children with CP with different GMFCS levels. Conclusion: The results of this study support the construct validity of the ECAB as a measure of postural control in children under three years of age with CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]