Background In 2020 the world faced the spread of the coronavirus infection disease (Covid-19). This was a general public health emergency but many people with disabilities might have been particularly affected. Objective This paper aims to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and their families. Methods 110 parents of children with CP (aged 2 to 19) who completed a questionnaire were included. These children were under the care of one of the Italian Children Rehabilitation Centers. Socio-demographic and clinical information about patients and their families were collected. In addition, difficulties on adopting protective measures and in respecting lockdown rules by children were explored. We adopted the ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health) framework to create multiple choice questions. Descriptive statistics were reported and logistic regression analyses were run in order to identify the predictors of perceived impairment in motor, speech, manual and behavioral abilities. Results Daily activities of children, as well as rehabilitation and fitness sessions, underwent a change during the pandemic. Spending more time with family due to lockdown measures, has had, in some cases a positive effect however there was a perceived decrease in rehabilitation support and school activities. The age range (between 7 and 12 years) and difficulty in respecting rules emerged as significant predictors of the perceived impairment due to Covid-19 pandemic. Conclusions The pandemic has had different impacts on children and their families on the basis of children’s characteristics. Rehabilitation activities during a hypothetic lockdown should consider these characteristics.

BackgroundPatients with cerebral palsy (CP) have an increased risk of developing mental health disorders.AimsThis paper is aimed to investigate the occurrence of psychiatric symptoms in adults with CP and to explore the relation between clinical and psychosocial variables.Methods and proceduresWe included 199 adults with a diagnosis of CP. The chi-square and the Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare clinical and psychosocial variables, the level of perceived disability, and the type of observed parental style in patients with and without psychiatric symptoms. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables that could predict the occurrence of mental health disorders.Outcome and resultsAnxiety and psychosis were the most represented disorders. Age, living status, assumption of drugs, motor, manual, and global impairment were significantly different between patients with and without psychiatric symptoms. Similarly, a different parental style was observed between the two groups. Logistic regression indicated that living status, prescribed drugs, parental style, and the perceived disability in getting along with others predicted the occurrence of psychiatric symptoms.Conclusions and implicationsResults suggest that patients with and without psychiatric symptoms have different clinical and psychosocial characteristics. Some variables should be considered as potentially affecting the mental health of patients with CP.

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