Impact of motor, cognitive, and perceptual disorders on ability to perform activities of daily living after stroke

Using confirmatory factor analysis, this study evaluates the relative impact of motor, cognitive, and perceptual deficits on functional autonomy with 100 elderly (aged 55 to 79 years) victims of stroke. Two different approaches were used for measuring functional autonomy: the Functional Autonomy Measurement System (Système de Mesure de l'Autonomie Fonctionnelle [SMAF]) and the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis show that motor, cognitive, and perceptual factors all make a significant contribution to the variation in functional autonomy and confirm the accuracy of the model (93% of the variance is explained when the SMAF is used to measure functional autonomy, and 64% of the variance is explained when the AMPS is used). The factors that make the greatest contribution in explaining the variance in functional autonomy are, in order of importance, the motor factor, the perceptual factor, and the cognitive factor.