Systematic cognitive monitoring of children with cerebral palsy - the development of an
assessment and follow-up protocol
Sammanfattning
Cerebral palsy (CP) is associated with cognitive impairments, learning difficulties and reduced
social participation. Individual assessment is necessary for individually tailored interventions. This
paper describes the development of a systematic follow-up programme of cognition, and the
challenges of integrating it into the regular follow-up of children with CP. Initiated by the Nordic users‘
organisations, a group of psychologists proposed a protocol of follow-up of cognition in children with
CP - the CP Cog. This protocol consists of neuropsychological instruments covering general cognitive
functioning, visuospatial and executive functioning. The article presents a natural experiment
describing development and implementation of the cognitive protocol in three Scandinavian
countries. This introduction illustrates challenges associated with implementation, especially how
the success of the protocol hinges on structural backup within the different countries. In conclusion
the CP Cog assessment protocol holds the promise of increasing the awareness among habilitation
professionals that children with CP are in need of cognitive evaluation and educational support.