Are models of disability useful in real cases? Pediatric case examples realized in research, clinical practice, and...

Conceptual models are useful devices for organizing complex material and examining interrelationships among variables. For example, speakers at the 1990 II STEP Conference presented a systems model of motor control, the dynamical systems model as used in studying infant motor development, and the World Health Organization model as a systematic approach to the description of impairments, functional limitations, and disability. The purpose of this perspective is to provide examples of the usefulness of models of disability in organizing research, educational materials, and measurement in clinical practice. The disability model of the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research was used: (1) to design a measurement strategy for assessing effects of spasticity reduction in a child with cerebral palsy, (2) to develop a new assessment of functional motor performance in infants, and (3) as the conceptual framework for a comprehensive reference book for the practice of pediatric physical therapy (the current edition has been reformatted to conform to the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health). Similar models of the dimensions of disability have guided extensive development of tests designed by physical therapists for assessing function and quality of life in children with neurologic conditions.