Adaptive Behavior and Cognitive Abilities (IQ) in Norwegian Children with Cerebral Palsy
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Cerebral Palsy (CP) represents one of the most common neurological conditions in childhood and is caused by abnormal brain development or injury of brain areas controlling movement and postural control. In 2007, the revised definition of CP. Disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication and behavior accompanying the motor problems, reflecting the complexity of the disorder. World-wide prevalence of CP has been estimated from 1.5 to 4 per 1000 live births. A recent population-based multi-center study from Europe reported decreasing prevalence from 1.90 to 1.77 per 1000 live births from 1980 to 2003. In Norway, the prevalence was recently found to be 2.4 per 1000 live births. Learning disorders and intellectual disability are more prevalent among children with CP than Typical Developing (TD) children. The prevalence of cognitive impairment in children with CP, defined as a developmental (DQ) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) below 70 was reported to be around 40% in a population based study from Iceland. In a more recent study from Norway the prevalence of intellectual disability was 24%. In the latter study intellectual disability was diagnosed in children with IQ scores below 70 who in addition had limitations of adaptive functioning, at least partly explaining the lower prevalence compared with other studies basing the diagnosis only on low DQ/IQ-scores. In addition to the motor and cognitive challenges, behavioral problems are found in as many as 48% of children with CP. Less is known regarding adaptive functioning in everyday life in children with CP.