Article

Although there are several validated upper-extremity measures in young
children with cerebral palsy, none of these primarily assess the capacity to
carry out actions and tasks with the more-affected arm. To address this need, we
developed the Pediatric Arm Function Test (PAFT), which involves the behavioral
observation of how children use their more-affected arm during structured play in
a laboratory or clinic. This article evaluates the reliability and validity of
the PAFT Functional Ability scale. DESIGN: In study 1, a total of 20 children
between 2 and 8 yrs old with a wide range of upper-extremity hemiparesis caused
by cerebral palsy completed the PAFT on two occasions separated by 3 wks. In
study 2, a total of 41 children between 2 and 6 yrs old with similar
characteristics completed the PAFT and received a grade reflecting the severity
of more-affected arm motor impairment. RESULTS: In study 1, the PAFT test-retest
reliability correlation coefficient was 0.74. In study 2, convergent validity was
supported by a strong inverse correlation (r = -0.6, P < 0.001) between the PAFT
scores and the grade of impairment. CONCLUSIONS: The PAFT Functional Ability
scale is a reliable and valid measure of more-affected arm motor capacity in
children between 2 and 6 yrs old with cerebral palsy. It can be used to measure
upper-extremity neurorehabilitation outcome.

Langue : ANGLAIS