The Child and

Adolescent
Scale of
Participation
©
(CASP)
Administration and
Scoring Guidelines

Gary Bedell, Ph.D.,

OTR, FAOTA
8/19/2011
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 THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT SCALE OF
PARTICIPATION (CASP)©
GARY BEDELL, PH.D, OTR, FAOTA

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR……………………………………………………3

INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………..3-4

DESCRIPTION OF THE CASP…………………………………………..4-5

OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOMETRIC RESULTS………………….……...5-7

ADMINISTRATION.…………..……………………………………………7-8

SCORING.…………..……………………………………………..………8-10

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.………………………………………………..10-11

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………….12-15

APPENDIX: The CASP protocol…………………………………………16

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gary Bedell, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA is the primary author of the Child and Adolescent

Scale of Participation (CASP) and the larger Child and Family Follow-up Survey (CFFS)

that consists of the CASP and other measures. Dr. Bedell is an Associate Professor at

Tufts University, Department of Occupational Therapy, Medford, MA, USA. His

research involves measurement development and investigating effective strategies to

promote participation of children and youth in home, school and community activities.

Most of his recent work has focused on children and youth with acquired brain injuries

and their families.

INTRODUCTION

The Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) measures the extent to

which children participate in home, school, and community activities compared to

children of the same age as reported by family caregivers (Bedell, 2004, 2009). It was

designed as part of the Child and Family Follow-up Survey (CFFS, Bedell, 2004; Bedell

& Dumas, 2004, Galvin, 2010, Wells, 2009) to monitor outcomes and needs of children

with traumatic and other acquired brain injuries (ABI). The content and methods used in

the CASP and CFFS were informed by the International Classification of Functioning

(ICF, WHO, 2001), research addressing participation of children / youth with a range of

disabilities and factors related to the child, family and physical and social environment

that support and or hinder participation. As well, feedback was obtained by parents of

children/youth with ABI and clinical and measurement experts to develop and refine the

CASP and CFFS (Bedell, 2004; Bedell, Cohn, & Dumas, 2005; Dumas, Bedell, &

Hamill, 2004).

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 The CASP subsequently has been used separately from the CFFS and to assess

children with other diagnoses (Bedell, 2009; Robertson, et al., 2011; Voll, 2009;

Weintraub, Rot, Shoshani, Pe'er, & Weintraub, 2011). The CASP also has been

reviewed by others and described as a key outcome measure for children and youth

with ABI & other disabling conditions (Badge, Hancock, & Waugh, 2009; Bedell, in

press; Bedell & Coster, 2009; Bedell, Khetani, Coster, Law, & Cousins, in press;

MacCauley et al., in press; Haley, Graham, & Dumas, 2004; McConachie, Colver,

Forsyth, Jarvis, & Parkinson, 2006; McDougall, Wright, Schmidt, Miller, & Lowry, 2011;

Sherwin, et al., 2006; Ziviani, Desha, Feeney, & Boyd, 2010).

DESCRIPTION OF THE CASP

The CASP consists of 20 ordinal-scaled items and four subsections: 1) Home

Participation (6 items), 2) Community Participation (4 items), 3) School Participation (5

items), and 4) Home and Community Living Activities (5 items). The 20 items are rated

on a four-point scale: “Age Expected (Full participation),” “Somewhat Restricted,” “Very

Restricted,” “Unable.” A “Not Applicable” response is selected when the item reflects an

activity in which the child would not be expected to participate due to age (e.g., work).

Most items are applicable to children who are five and older and thus it is suggested

that the CASP is used for school-aged children (5 years and older) so that most items

and subsections can be completed.

Each CASP item examines a broad type of activity or life situation. Most items

include examples of activities that fall within the broad life situation. Item, subsection,

and total summary scores can be examined for use in research and practice. Higher

scores reflect greater age-expected participation. The CASP also includes open-ended

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questions that ask about effective strategies and supports and barriers that affect

participation. (The CASP protocol is provided at the end of these guidelines for further

description of the items and rating scale.)

The CASP can be used for individualized intervention planning, program evaluation,

and multi-site and population-based research. The CASP does not include a

demographic section, so additional demographic information (e.g., age, gender, type of

disability, facility, geographic location, time since diagnosis) will need to be asked or

data from the CASP will need to be linked to databases that include demographic

information that is relevant to the clinical, research and/or policy questions being asked.

OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOMETRIC RESULTS

Bedell (2004; 2009) has reported the main results of psychometric testing of the

CASP based on two studies. Data for the first study was conducted with 60

parents/guardians of children and youth with acquired brain injury discharged from

Fransciscan Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, USA (Bedell, 2004; Bedell & Dumas,

2004). Psychometric findings related to the initial version of the CASP and the larger

Child and Family Follow-up Survey (CFFS) were reported (Bedell, 2004) as were

descriptive and exploratory results (Bedell & Dumas, 2004). The second study focused

specifically on further validation of the CASP (Bedell, 2009). Data for this study were

collected from 313 parents or primary guardians of children/youth with a range of

disabling conditions (83%) and children/youth without disabilities (17%). Data were

collected in the USA (74%), Canada (15%), Australia (6%), and Israel (5%).

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 The CASP has reported evidence of test re-test reliability (Intraclass Correlation

Coefficient = 0.94), internal consistency (α ≥ 0.96) and construct and discriminant

validity. Moderate correlations were found between the CASP scores and scores from

measures of functional activity performance (r=0.51 to 0.75; Pediatric Evaluation of

Disability Index [PEDI], Haley, Coster, Ludlow, Haltiwanger, & Andrellos, 1998), extent

of child impairment (r=-0.58 to -0.66; Child and Adolescent Factors Inventory [CAFI],

Bedell, 2004; 2009) and problems in the physical and social environment (r= -0.43 to

-0.57; Child and Adolescent Scale of Environment [CASE], Bedell, 2004; 2009).

Significant differences in CASP scores were found related to type of disability (Bedell,

2009). As expected, children without disabilities, on average, had significantly higher

CASP scores than children with disabilities. No significant differences were found

related to age category

Recent results from factor analyses showed three factors contributing 63% of the

variance explained: 1) Participation in social, leisure, communication items (50%); 2)

Participation in advanced daily living items (7%); 3) Participation in basic daily living and

mobility items (6%) (Bedell, 2009). Recent results from Rasch analyses demonstrated

that the CASP appears to be measuring essentially a uni-dimensional construct. An

expected pattern of life situations for which children would find more or less challenging

to participate was found. Greater limitations were found in school and community

activities requiring more complex cognitive and social skills and lesser limitations were

found in more basic and routine home and school activities such as mobility,

communication and personal-care. Two of the 20 CASP items (Shopping/Managing

Money; Using Transportation) showed minor misfit to the Rasch measurement model

(i.e., the actual responses for these two items deviated somewhat from the expected

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pattern of responses predicted). Thus, further examination of these items is a future

area of inquiry.

It is important to note, that additional psychometric testing of the CASP with a larger

and more diverse sample is currently underway. Additional and more detailed findings

will be reported once data have been obtained and analyzed from colleagues. Also, the

responsiveness of the CASP in detecting change over time or due to intervention has

not been examined and will be a focus of future inquiry.

The CASP has been translated in Spanish, French, German, Hebrew, and

Mandarin. An English and Spanish youth-report version was also designed for a large

population-based longitudinal study of children and youth with Traumatic Brain Injury in

the USA. Psychometric testing has yet to be conducted for these versions and will be a

focus of future inquiry.

ADMINISTRATION

The CASP takes about 10 minutes to administer when done separately from the

larger follow-up survey (CFFS). There is no specific training to administer the CASP or

the CFFS. Those using the CASP or larger CFFS for their specific purposes should be

knowledgeable about the content and rating scales used in the CASP, the key concepts

being measured (particularly, “participation” and “environmental factors”) as defined in

the International Classification of Functioning (WHO, 2001; 2007) and the conceptual

and methodological background information and psychometric findings reported in two

published articles briefly summarized in the introduction (Bedell, 2004; 2009).

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 There are two ways to administer the parent/guardian - report version of the

CASP. Consistency between the two modes of administration has not been examined.

Self-Administered (in person or mail survey): The parent or guardian is

provided with the CASP in person or via postal mail (or e-mail attachment), asked to

complete it on his or her own and then return it to the specific contact person

responsible for data coordination (in person or via postal mail). Parents/guardians

should be provided with a description of the specific purposes of the project or research

being conducted in person or via a cover letter if the CASP or CFFS is sent via postal

mail or e-mail. Each institution is responsible for adhering to guidelines for research

ethics with human participants (e.g., informed consent procedures) if the CASP or

CFFS is used for research purposes.

Interviewer administered (in-person or by telephone): The parent or guardian

would be administered the CASP in person or by phone using the same version used

for self-administration. The interviewer essentially asks the same questions along with

the examples provided as they are described in the order in which they are asked on

the CASP protocol. Respondents and interviewers are allowed to ask for and provide

clarification or further explanation, if needed.

SCORING

There are a number of ways to score the CASP depending on the purpose of the

project or research being conducted:

CASP Total Summary Scores: This score is the sum of all “Applicable” items

divided by the maximum possible score of applicable items. The maximum possible

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score if all items were applicable would be: 20 items X 4 = 80. This score then should

be multiplied by 100 to conform to a 100-point scale. For example, let’s say the sum of

all 20 items was 66. This sum (66) would be divided by 80 (which would equal 0.825)

and then multiplied by 100 to obtain a total summary score of 82.5.

CASP Subsection Summary Scores: Subsection summary scores can be

used for all four or selected subsections depending on the specific aims of the research

or project. Computation of subsection summary scores is essentially the same as for

computation of the total summary score. This score is the sum of all “Applicable” items

in each subsection divided by the maximum possible score of applicable items in each

subsection. The maximum possible score if all items in each subsection were applicable

would be: 1) Home Participation, 6 items X 4 = 24; 2) Community Participation, 4 items

X 4 = 16; 3) School Participation, 5 items X 4 = 20; and 4) Home and Community Living,

5 items X 4 = 20. This score then should be multiplied by 100 to conform to a 100-point

scale. For example, let’s say the sum of all six Home Participation items was 18. This

sum (18) would be divided by 24 (which would equal 0.75) and then multiplied by 100 to

obtain a Home participation subsection summary score of 75.

CASP Item-level Scores: Item-level scores can be used if interested in

responses to or change in specific items (i.e., specific types of life situations or

activities) or for comparing item-level responses or change among all or selected CASP

items. This score is the rating provided for each item (e.g., 1=Unable to participate,

2=Very limited, 3=Somewhat limited, 4=Age expected / Full participation).

How to address “Not Applicable” responses in the computation of CASP scores

is still in development and will be further explored as the next wave of data have been

received and analyzed. Currently, there are two ways to address "Not Applicable”

9
responses in the scoring. Most investigators have used the aforementioned guidelines,

i.e., they do not include the not applicable item in the scoring. Another option is to first

take the average of all items and/or specific subsections and use this as the score for

the non applicable item, and then use the aforementioned guidelines for computation of

total summary and subsection summary scores. Item and or subsection scores should

be the primary scores used when there are many non-applicable items responses, i.e.,

when the CASP is used with younger children.

The open-ended questions at the end of the CASP can provide useful

information to understand factors that might support or hinder the child’s participation

and elaborate on information that was not obtained from the ordinal-scaled items. This

information along with the responses to the ordinal-level responses specific to each

child/youth is useful for individualized family-centered planning. As well, information

provided to from open-ended questions from a larger group of participants involved in

programs or research projects can be content analyzed and summarized to inform

program, research or policy-related decisions. Responses from each ordinal-scaled

item can be aggregated using descriptive statistics to inform similar decisions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) and larger Child and

Family Follow-up Survey (CFFS) were initially developed in collaboration with Ms.

Helene Dumas, MA, PT, Research Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs,

Franciscan Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, USA. Initial funding was provided by a

grant from the Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund awarded to Ms. Dumas and Dr.

Bedell. Additional support to develop the CASP and CFFS was received from the

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United States Department of Education – National Institute on Disability and

Rehabilitation Research which funded Dr. Bedell’s post-doctoral research fellowship at

Boston University. In addition, a faculty research grant from Tufts University was

awarded to Dr. Bedell to further develop the CASP and CFFS.

Special Acknowledgements. I thank Ms. Helen Dumas, MS., PT and the families of

children and youth with acquired brain injuries discharged from the inpatient

rehabilitation program at Franciscan Hospital for Children who participated in the

research to develop the CASP and CFFS. I also thank the research assistants and

graduate students who assisted with data collection and/or analyses, and the following

colleagues who collected data to help further refine and test the CASP and CFFS:

Roberta DePompei, Ph.D., SLP/A, Paula McCreedy MA, OTR, Prudence Heisler, MA,

OTR, Justine Delise, MA, OTR, Jane Galvin, PhD (candidate), OT, Naomi Weintraub,

Ph.D, OT, Lisa, Cyzner, Ph.D., OTR, Rebecca Wells, MA, Ph.D. (candidate) and Julie

Haarbauer-Krupa, Ph.D., CCC-SP.

Finally, special thanks go to Drs. Steve Haley, Wendy Coster and Alan Jette – my

esteemed colleagues and post-doctoral research fellowship mentors at Boston

University – who provided me with the initial support and expertise to initially develop

the CASP and CFFS and ongoing resources and opportunities to further develop my

line of research and career.

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REFERENCES
Badge, B., Hancock, J., Waugh, M.C. (2009). Evaluating paediatric brain injury services

in NSW. Child: Care, Health and Development, 36(1), 54-62.

Bedell, G. (2004). Developing a follow-up survey focused on participation of children

and youth with acquired brain injuries after inpatient rehabilitation.

NeuroRehabilitation, 19, 191-205.

Bedell, G. (2009). Further validation of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation

(CASP). Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 12, 342-351.

Bedell, G. (in press). Measurement of Social Participation. In V. Anderson, & M.

Beauchamp (Eds.), Developmental Social Neuroscience and Childhood Brain

Insult: Implication for Theory and Practice. New York, NY: Guilford Publications.

Bedell, G.M., Cohn, E.S., Dumas, H.M. (2005). Exploring parents' use of strategies to

promote social participation of school-age children with acquired brain injuries.

American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(3), 273-284.

Bedell, G. & Coster, W. (2008). Measuring participation of school-age children with

traumatic brain injuries: Considerations and approaches. Journal of Head Trauma

Rehabilitation, 23, 220-229.

Bedell, G., & Dumas, H. (2004). Social participation of children and youth with acquired

brain injuries discharged from inpatient rehabilitation: A follow-up study. Brain

Injury, 18, 65-82.

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Bedell, G., Khetani, M. Coster, Law, M., & Cousins, M. (in press). Measures of

participation in community, social and civic life for children with disabilities. In A.

Majnemer (Ed.), Measures of outcomes and their determinants for children and

youth with developmental disabilities, London: Mac Kieth Press.

Dumas H.M., Bedell, G.M., & Hamill, M.S. (2003). Strategies to promote activity and

participation in children and youths with acquired brain injuries. International

Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 26(4), 303-307.

Galvin, J, Froude, E.H., & McAleer, J. (2010). Children’s participation in home, school

and community life after acquired brain injury. Australian Occupational Therapy

Journal, 57,118–126.

Haley S., Coster, W., Ludlow L., Haltiwanger J., & Andrellos J. (1992). Pediatric

Evaluation of Disability Inventory: Development, standardization, and administration

manual, version 1.0. Boston, MA: Trustees of Boston University, Health and

Disability Research Institute.

Haley, S.M., Graham, R.J., & Dumas, H.M. (2004). Outcome Rating Scales for Pediatric

Head Injury. Journal of Intensive Care Medicine 19(4), 205-219.

McCauley, S.R, Wilde, E.A., Anderson, V., Bedell, G., Beers, S.R., … & Yeates, K.O. (in

press). Recommendations for the use of common outcome measures on pediatric

traumatic brain injury research. Journal of Neurotrauma.

McConachie, H., Colver, A.F., Forsyth, R.J., Jarvis, S.N., & Parkinson, K.N. (2006).

Participation of disabled children: How should it be characterised and measured?

Disability and Rehabilitation, 28, 1157-1164.

13
McDougall, J., Wright, V., Schmidt, J., Miller, L., & Lowry, K. (2011). Applying the ICF

framework to study changes in quality-of-life in children with chronic conditions.

Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 14(1), 41-53.

Robertson, C.M.T., Suave, R.S., Joffe, A.R., Alton, G.Y., Moddeman, D.M., …Rebeyka,

I.M. (2011). The Registry and Follow-up of Complex Pediatric Therapies Program:

A mechanism for service, audit, and research after life-saving therapies for young

children Cardiology Research and Practice, 2011,1-11.

Sherwin, E., Whiteneck, G., Corrigan, J., Bedell, G., Brown, M., … Kreutzer, J. (2006).

Domains of a TBI minimal data set: Community reintegration phase. Brain Injury,

20(4), 383-389.

Voll, R. 2009). Social participation and vocational integration as an objective of child

and adolescent psychiatric rehabilitation. Z Kinder Jungendpsychiatr Psychother,

37(5), 421-429. [German]

Weintraub, N., Rot, I, Shoshani, N., Pe'er, J., & Weintraub, M. (2011). Participation in

daily activities and quality of life in survivors of retinoblastoma. Pediatric Blood

Cancer, 56, 590-594.

Wells, R, Minnes, P, & Phillips, M. (2090). Predicting social and functional outcomes for

individuals sustaining paediatric traumatic brain injury. Developmental

Neurorehabilitation, 12, 2-23.World Health Organization [WHO] (2001).

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Geneva: World

Health Organization.

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World Health Organization [WHO] (2007). International Classification of Functioning,

Disability and Health. Version for Children and Youth. Geneva: World Health

Organization.

Ziviani, J., Desha, L., Feeney, R., & Boyd, R. (2010). Measures of participation

outcomes and environmental considerations for children with acquired brain injury:

A systematic review. Brain Impairment, 11(2), 93-112.

15
APPENDIX: Child & Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP)

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Child’s name ___________________________

Child & Adolescent

Scale of Participation
(CASP)

- Instructions -

1. This scale asks questions about your child’s participation in activities

and events at home, school and the community. There also are a few
questions that ask about strategies, assistive devices or modifications
that are used or have been done to help your child participate if this is
needed.

2. There are no right or wrong answers. You will have to choose, and in
some cases write, the answer that best describes your child’s
participation and things that help or interfere with his or her
participation. If you are not sure about how to answer a question,
give your best guess.
Thank you!

Your name ___________________________________________

Your relationship to child ___________________________

Date you completed survey___________________________

(Month / Day / Year)

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 We are interested in finding out about the activities that your child participates in at home,
school and in the community.

You will be asked about your child’s current level of participation with activities as
compared to other children his or her age. For each item, choose one of the following
responses:
Age expected (Full participation), your child participates in the activities the same as or
more than other children his or her age. [With or without assistive devices or equipment]
Somewhat limited, your child participates in the activities somewhat less than other children
his or her age [Your child may also need occasional supervision or assistance]
Very limited, your child participates in the activities much less than other children his or her
age. [Your child may also need a lot of supervision or assistance]
Unable, your child can not participate in the activities, although other children his or her age
do participate.
Not applicable, other children your child’s age would not be expected to participate in the
activities.

Please select one answer by placing an X in one of the boxes next to each item. If you are not sure,
choose your best guess.

Compared to other children your child’s age, what is

Somewhat limited

Not applicable
your child’s current level of participation in the

Age expected

Very limited
following activities?

Unable
HOME PARTICIPATION
1) Social, play or leisure activities with family members at home (e.g., games,
hobbies, “hanging out”)
2) Social, play or leisure activities with friends at home (can include
conversations on the phone or internet)
3) Family chores, responsibilities and decisions at home (For younger children
this may be getting things or putting things away when asked or helping
with small parts of household chores; For older children this may be more
involvement in household chores and decisions about family activities and
plans)
4) Self-care activities (e.g., eating, dressing, bathing, combing or brushing
hair, using the toilet)
5) Moving about in and around the home
6) Communicating with other children and adults at home

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Compared to other children your child’s age, what is

Somewhat limited

Not applicable
your child’s current level of participation in the

Age expected

Very limited
following activities?

Unable
NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
7) Social, play, or leisure activities with friends in the neighborhood and
community (e.g., casual games, “hanging out,” going to public places like a
movie theater, park or restaurant)
8) Structured events and activities in the neighborhood and community (e.g.,
team sports, clubs, holiday or religious events, concerts, parades and fairs)
9) Moving around the neighborhood and community (e.g., public buildings,
parks, restaurants, movies) [Please consider your child’s primary way of
moving around, NOT his or her use of transportation]
10) Communicating with other children and adults in the neighborhood and
community

Answer the following 5 questions if your child attends school or another structured educational
program such as an early intervention program or day care center. Please specify the type of
program your child is attending here:

Compared to other children your child’s age, what is

Somewhat limited

Not applicable
your child’s current level of participation in the
Age expected

Very limited
following activities?

Unable
SCHOOL PARTICIPATION
11) Educational (academic) activities with other children in his or her
classroom at school
12) Social, play and recreational activities with other children at school
(e.g., “hanging out,” sports, clubs, hobbies, creative arts, lunchtime or
recess activities)
13) Moving around at school (e.g., to get to and use bathroom, playground,
cafeteria, library or other rooms and things that are available to other
children his or her age)
14) Using educational materials and equipment that are available to other
children in his or her classroom/s or that have been modified for your child
(e.g., books, computers, chairs and desks)
15) Communicating with other children and adults at school

3
 Compared to other children your child’s age, what is

Somewhat limited

Not applicable
your child’s current level of participation in the

Age expected

Very limited
following activities?

Unable
HOME AND COMMUNITY LIVING ACTIVITIES
16) Household activities (e.g., preparing some meals, doing laundry, washing
dishes)
17) Shopping and managing money (e.g., shopping at stores, figuring out
correct change)
18) Managing daily schedule (e.g., doing and completing daily activities on
time; organizing and adjusting time and schedule when needed)
19) Using transportation to get around in the community (e.g., to and from
school, work, social or leisure activities) [Driving vehicle or using public
transportation]
20) Work activities and responsibilities (e.g., completion of work tasks,
punctuality, attendance and getting along with supervisors and co-workers)

21.a. Please describe the type of things that interfere with your child’s participation in the above-
mentioned activities (e.g., things that your child does or that others do; or things about your home,
school or community) [Please write clearly]:

21.b. Please describe the type of things that help with your child’s participation in the above-
mentioned activities (e.g., things that your child does or that others do; or things about your home,
school or community). [Please write clearly]:

22. Does your child currently use any assistive devices or equipment to help him or her participate
(e.g., adapted eating utensils, shower chair, note-taker for school, daily planner, computer)?
□ Yes □ No
[If Yes], please identify:

23. Have any changes been made to your home, community or the school (or work) setting to help
your child participate (e.g., rearranging furniture and materials, adjusting lighting or noise levels,
building a ramp or other physical structures)?
□ Yes □ No
[If Yes], please describe:

4
 THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING
THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT SCALE OF PARTICIPATION!

The CASP was originally developed by Gary Bedell, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA
at the Center for Rehabilitation Effectiveness,
Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences,
Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

in collaboration with Helene Dumas, MS, PT

Research Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs
Franciscan Hospital for Children
Boston, MA

Initial funding was provided from the

Deborah Munroe Noonan Memorial Fund, Boston, MA.

For more information about the CASP please contact Dr. Bedell at:

Tufts University
Department of Occupational therapy
56 Winthrop Street, Medford, MA 02155

gary.bedell@tufts.edu