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Reliability of the peabody developmental gross motor scale in children with cerebral palsy
J E Boulton1, S E Kirsch, M Chipman
1Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Perinatal ICU, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto.
Insights
The Peabody Development Gross Motor Scale (PDGMS) shows high reliability for assessing gross motor skills in children with cerebral palsy. Videotaping assessments further enhances the reliability of this tool.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Rehabilitation
- Motor Development
- Neurology
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) significantly impacts gross motor function in children.
- Reliable assessment tools are crucial for tracking development and intervention effectiveness in pediatric CP.
- The Peabody Development Gross Motor Scale (PDGMS) is a widely used measure for assessing motor skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the test/retest, intrarater, and interrater reliability of the PDGMS in children with mild to moderate cerebral palsy.
- To determine the responsiveness of PDGMS subscales to changes in gross motor function.
- To validate the use of videotaped assessments for reliability in this population.
Main Methods:
- 12 children with mild or moderate cerebral palsy participated.
- PDGMS was administered, scored, and videotaped by one rater.
- A second independent rater rescored the videotapes.
- Test/retest reliability was assessed two weeks apart.
- Interrater reliability was assessed at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months.
Main Results:
- High test/retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] ranging from 0.82 to 0.98).
- High interrater reliability (correlation coefficients [r] from 0.89 to 0.98; ICCs from 0.88 to 0.99).
- Balance and locomotor skill categories demonstrated the highest responsiveness.
Conclusions:
- The PDGMS is a reliable assessment tool for evaluating gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy.
- Videotaping assessments maintains the reliability of the PDGMS.
- The findings support the use of PDGMS for clinical and research purposes in pediatric CP populations.
Abstract:
The test/retest, intrarater, and interrater reliability of the Peabody Development Gross Motor Scale (PDGMS) was assessed in 12 children with mild or moderate cerebral palsy. A baseline test was administered, scored, and videotaped by one rater and rescored from the videotape by a second independent rater. In order to minimize the effect of developmental maturation, test/retest correlation coefficients of the tests were performed two weeks apart. The intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.82 to 0.98. For interrater reliability, testing following the same protocol was repeated at 2 weeks, 3 and 6 months. Interrater correlation coefficients (r) ranged from 0.89 to 0.98. Interrater correlation coefficients (ICC) from scoring and later rescoring ten videotapes with the closest and furthest interrater agreement ranged from 0.88 to 0.99. The balance and locomotor skill categories were most responsive for assessing gross motor function in this population. These data support the use of the PDGMS as an assessment tool for children with cerebral palsy and the reliability of videotaping assessments.
