Advances in the Understanding and Assessment of Chronic Pain in Children and Young People with Cerebral Palsy

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Presented on 28 May 2025
Sponsored by the Pain in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (PIDDSIG)

Free to IASP Members
$25USD Non-Members (click here to become an IASP Member)

Chronic pain has been reported in up to 77% of children and young people with cerebral palsy, the most common childhood-onset physical disability, and has a profound impact on the lives of children and their families. Chronic pain has traditionally been underrecognised and therefore poorly managed in this population, largely due to the diverse communication, cognitive and physical abilities seen. Our team has recently made considerable advances in the identification and assessment of chronic pain in children and young people with cerebral palsy, with a focus on ensuring those with communication and cognitive limitations can self-report wherever possible.

This seminar will provide updated information on chronic pain in children and young people with cerebral palsy and present recent advancements in pain assessment based on a biopsychosocial model. We will present 1) a newly developed evidence-based pain assessment framework to guide chronic pain assessment in cerebral palsy and 2) two newly adapted pain assessment tools for young people with cerebral palsy that are feasible for children and young people with diverse abilities. Future research directions will also be presented.

This talk should be of interest across the spectrum of the IASP membership. Trainees will benefit from novel approaches and more experienced colleagues from greater knowledge about an under-represented population.

Learning Objectives:

Gain an understanding of the prevalence of chronic pain in children and young people with cerebral palsy and the issues impacting their chronic pain experiences
Identify the most reliable, valid, and feasible tools that can be used with children and young people with cerebral palsy to assess the impact chronic pain has on their emotional functioning and daily activities, based on whether they are able to self-report or need observational or proxy-reporting.
Understand the modifications needed to tools to ensure children with cognitive and communication limitations are able to self-report their chronic pain wherever possible.

Speakers:

Adrienne Harvey, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Nadine Smith, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Meredith Smith, University of Adelaide

Adrienne Harvey

Associate Professor

Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Adrienne is a physiotherapist and clinician scientist with 30 years of clinical, research and education experience. She is a Team Leader/Senior Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Associate Professor within the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. In 2019 she was awarded a Translation of Research into Practice Fellowship through the Medical Research Future Fund.

Adrienne's passion for improving the lives of children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities and their families grew from her PhD studies completed in 2008 and a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at McMaster University, Canada. Since then her clinical research activities have grown substantially.

Adrienne has presented extensively on the management of children with cerebral palsy and have developed strong collaborations with key clinicians and researchers nationally and internationally.

Meredith Smith

Physiotherapist

University of Adelaide

Meredith Smith is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy within the School of Allied Health Science and Practice. She is a clinical paediatric physiotherapist, with expertise in paediatric rehabilitation and three dimensional gait analysis. Meredith is currently completing a PhD on the topic 'Tailoring Chronic Pain Assessment for Children and Young People with Cerebral Palsy'. Meredith previously completed a Masters of Advanced Paediatric Physiotherapy Practice through Monash University, including a research translation project focusing on community physiotherapy surveillance in cerebral palsy. Meredith is a titled APA Paediatric Physiotherapist and a committee member for the APA Paediatric special interest group. Meredith also continues to work clinically at Novita and the Women's and Children's Hospital.

Nadine Smith

Physiotherapist

Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Nadine is a physiotherapist who works in the movement program, Kids Rehab WA at Perth Children's Hospital. She has a special interest in children who have dyskinetic cerebral palsy and assessment of pain when children cannot self-report. Her recent research has focussed on movement interventions for children to decrease pain.