children, cerebral palsy, clothing, motor skills, orthotics, dropouts, program evaluation, outcome

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This study was done with a sample of eight children with Cerebral Palsy to evaluate the effects of wearing Lycra garments in children with cerebral palsy. The age ranged from 3 years 5 months to 13 years. There was a 1:1 ratio of females to males. A repeated measures design was used with pretesting and postesting before and after intervention. The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) and the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST) were used for evaluation. The benefits and harm of wearing Lycra as perceived by both the parents were documented at the end of the trial. Each subject was tested at baseline, and then again once the wear time for Lycra was more than 4 hours a day. Three of the subjects dropped out of the study due to discomfort caused by Lycra. One dropped out because of a prescription of a spinal jacket. An improvement in either GMFM or QUEST score was observed in all the four children. In one participant, both the scores improved. Except one, all the subjects showed functional improvements when wearing their suit. The study showed that wearing Lycra garments may help in function in children with CP, however the discomfort may prevent its use.