Author: Susan L. Wiepert, PT, MS and Vicki Stemmons Mercer, PT, PhD
Source: Pediatric Physical Therapy, Spring 2002; Volume 14, pp 22-28
The Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PMDS) was administered to nineteen typically developing four to six year old children. The children all attended a nursery school in New York. They were all white and from middle class families. The PDMS was administered following the standard instructions in the test manual except that children were allowed to attempt each task five times. Standard administration allows fewer attempts and the number of attempts varies by item. The test was scored according to the standard instructions that limit the number of attempts and then scored allowing for the best of three and best of five attempts per task. Clinically significant changes in scores were seen in 21% of the children when three trials were allowed and in nearly 50% of the children when five attempts were allowed. The largest change was seen in the receipt and propulsion tasks, (i.e., catching, throwing, and kicking a ball). Weipert and Mercer suggest that allowing practice attempts during administration of all tasks on the PDMS with preschool children may allow them to achieve scores more reflective of their optimal performance.
|
