Communication Function Classification System: the Farsi version for children with CP

The Communication Function Classification System, or short CFCS, is one of the scales that can be used by health care professionals to classify everyday communication abilities of their clients. The original version was developed for use with people with CP, but is now also used to describe communication in people with any speech and language impairment or developmental disabilities.

The CFCS has 5 levels to describe a person’s communication performance. The ability to send and receive messages is rated, taking into account whether the conversation partner is familiar or not. Level 1 describes a person who is an effective sender and receiver, whereas Level 5 describes a person who is rarely successful in communicating effectively even with familiar partners. 

The CFCS has been translated into various languages by now, and a recent addition to this growing list is the Iranian version. The research team around Zahra Soleymani led the development of the Farsi version. 

In a first step, the original version was translated by two experienced translators. Their individual translations were merged, and together with a speech and language therapist a working version was created. This version was then discussed with parents and other health professionals. It was decided that the version would benefit from some changes as not all terms used were known to the people consulted. For this reason, the authors added an introduction defining the terms used as well as explaining the advantages and benefits of the tool. A third translator then back-translated the adapted version, and based on this a final version was developed. 

In a second step, inter-rater as well as test-retest reliability was tested. For this, professionals and parents were asked to use the tool to rate the communication performance of 152 children. Other professionals and parents were further asked to use the test again after 2 weeks. It was then checked how similar judgements were between raters or between time points. Results show that reliability was excellent, meaning that the CFCS is a tool that can be used by health professionals in Iran to better understand clients’ communication abilities.

Soleymani, Z., Joveini, G. & Baghestani, A. R. (2015). The Communication Function Classification System: Cultural Adaptation, Validity and Reliability of the Farsi Version for Patients With Cerebral Palsy. Pediatric Neurology, 52, 333-337.