Mini-EDACS: Development of the Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System for young children with cerebral palsy

Aim To develop and test Mini-EDACS to describe developing eating and drinking abilities of children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged between 18 and 36 months. Method The existing Eating and Drinking Ability Classification System (EDACS) was modified to define Mini-EDACS content. Mini-EDACS was developed in three stages: (1) EDACS was modified after application to videos of standardized feeding evaluations of children with CP aged 18 to 36 months (n = 130); (2) refined content and validity of Mini-EDACS was established through an international Delphi survey; (3) interobserver reliability was assessed by comparing Mini-EDACS levels assigned by speech and language therapists (SaLTs) from video data and parent report. Results Mini-EDACS provides age-appropriate descriptions for children aged 18 to 36 months with CP. Eighty-nine stakeholders participated in the Delphi survey; required levels of agreement were met after one round (i.e. >80% agreement). Thirteen SaLTs completed paired ratings from 43 video recordings: absolute agreement was 58% (kappa 0.43; intraclass correlation coefficient 0.78; 95% confidence interval 0.63-0.87). Interpretation Mini-EDACS provides a valid system for classifying eating and drinking performance of children with CP under 3 years old. Results suggest moderate agreement and good reliability when rating Mini-EDACS levels from video recordings of young children with CP.

Automated summary

The aim of this study was to develop and test Mini-EDACS, a system for describing the eating and drinking abilities of children with cerebral palsy aged between 18 and 36 months. The Mini-EDACS was developed through modifying the existing EDACS system, conducting an international survey, and assessing interobserver reliability. The results indicate that Mini-EDACS provides valid and reliable classification for evaluating the eating and drinking performance of young children with cerebral palsy.