Based on and adapted from the original Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88), this new family-completed questionnaire (GM-FR) is designed to enable families to report the gross motor activities of their children or adolescents with Cerebral Palsy (CP) at home and in their communities. The GM-FR was developed between 2020-23 by a group of experts in childhood disability from Brazil and Canada. The GM-FR contains 28 gross motor activities (items) that span the original GMFM’s five dimensions:

(A) Lying and Rolling – 6 items;

(B) Sitting – 5 items;

(C) Crawling – 3 items;

(D) Standing – 5 items; and

(E) Walking – 9 items.

Most tools currently used to evaluate gross motor function of children and youth with cerebral palsy (CP) were neither designed nor validated for use by parents or caregivers within home and community contexts. The COVID-19 pandemic forced clinicians and researchers to shift to virtual assessments using telehealth. This development highlighted long-standing limitations in assessment practices, namely the reliance on in-person evaluation within healthcare facilities, and the lack of consideration of natural environments in which young people and their families live.

Our research group developed and validated a family-centred evaluation tool known as the Gross Motor Family Report (GM-FR). This family report questionnaire was designed to be easy to use, value parents’ and other family caregivers’ knowledge of their child’s performance in everyday life and be appropriate for use in a telehealth context. Our aim was to create a tool to collect gross motor function data efficiently while taking into consideration environmental influences on functioning, such as the use of walking aids and orthoses. The GM-FR was also developed in the context of emergent thinking about the importance of assessing children’s everyday ‘performance’ of motor activities in their natural environments, beyond the traditional evaluation of ‘capacity’ in standardized environments and testing conditions. It was validated for children and adolescents between 2-18 years, and it takes around 5-15 minutes do apply.

We created the GM-FR in collaboration with families of children with CP based on the research team’s systematic selection of items from the Gross Motor Function Measure 88 (GMFM-88) that could be observed easily by family members in children’s natural environments. These items were developed with clear descriptions of functional performance ‘in the last week’ (with an interest in ‘performance’ [usual functioning] rather than ‘capacity’ [best performance in a standardized setting]). To facilitate completion for families, clear descriptions and photographs embedded in the GM-FR questionnaire illustrate each item.

When you acquire the manual, you will have access to the fillable pdf form of the measure, a GM-FR calculator and database excel spreadsheet, and a tutorial video of how to use the calculator and database.

The GM-FR has been validated in Brazil and Canada as shared in the following publications:

1. Chagas P, Leite H, Campos AC, Camargos A, Morais R, Wright V, Wright M, Pritchard L, Longo E, Moreira R, Ayupe K, Rosenbaum P. Gross Motor Function Parent Report (GMF-PR): preliminary evidence of validity. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology Supplement. 2021; 63 (Suppl. 3): 76.
2. Chagas P, Rosenbaum P, Wright FV, Pritchard L, Wright M, Toledo AM, Camargos ACR, Longo E, Leite, HR. Development of the Gross Motor Function Family Report (GMF-FR) for children with cerebral palsy. Physiotherapy Canada. 2023; 75(1): 83-91
3. Chagas P, Magalhaes E, Toledo A, Ayupe K, Lima A, Campos AC, Santana C, Monteiro R, Moreira R, Wright M, Wright V, Pritchard L, Rosenbaum P. Participa Brazil: Contribution of Parents to the Development of the Gross Motor Function Family Report – GMF- FR. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology Supplement. 2022; 64 (Supp.4): 134.
4. Magalhaes EDD, Rosenbaum P, Wright M, Wright FV, Pritchard L, Ayupe KMA, de Campos AC, Morais RS, Leite HR, Chagas PSC. Gross Motor Family Report: Refinement and evaluation of psychometric properties. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2025; 67(2): 254-262.

And you can learn more about the measure in two PodCasts:

Chagas P. ResearchWorks PodCast: Gross Motor Family Report: Refinement and evaluation of psychometric properties.

Chagas P. ResearchWorks PodCast: Episode 50 (Associate Professor Paula Chagas): Development of the Gross Motor Function Family Report (GMF-FR) for children with cerebral palsy.

Chagas P. DMCN PodCast: Gross Motor Family Report: Refinement and evaluation of psychometric properties.