Applicability of the hierarchical scales of the Tufts Assessment of Motor Performance for school-aged children and adults with disabilities

Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111.

The relative difficulty of motor performance tasks for school-aged children and adults with physical disabilities within a standardized motor performance test was examined. The Tufts Assessment of Motor Performance (TAMP) was administered to 69 children (ages 6-18 years, X = 12.1, SD = 3.9) and 137 adults (ages 19-83 years, X = 46.7, SD = 20.0) with neurological and musculoskeletal impairments. The purpose of the study was to determine whether the hierarchical scales of the motor performance tasks between the pediatric and adult disability samples were congruent. Correlations of task difficulty calibrations (r = .76; P less than .01) and task rank ordering (rho = .76; P less than .01) were moderately high and positive between pediatric and adult subjects. Significant age-group differences emerged in relation to a number of individual motor performance tasks. In general, mobility and ambulation tasks were relatively easier for children, whereas manipulation tasks were relatively easier for adults. The data suggest a strong similarity in the overall pattern of motor performance task difficulty for children and adults. The results support the use by physical therapists of two parallel versions of the TAMP to describe the motor performance of adults and school-aged children with physical disabilities.

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