Keiko Onogi, MD, PhD, Izumi Kondo, MD, PhD, Yoshimi Asagai, MD, PhD, Eiichi Saitoh, MD, DMSc
Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 8: 37-43, 2017
Objective: The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability
Inventory (PEDI) provides functional skills scales
based on the data obtained from normally developing
children. In the present study, we performed an
analysis of children with cerebral palsy using the same
methodology as set originally to examine differences
in discrete skill items between the two groups of
children.
Methods: Six hundred and two children with cerebral
palsy were divided into groups based on the severity
of disorder as described in the Gross Motor Function
Classification System (GMFCS). The scaled scores for
the PEDI functional skills were computed by Rasch
analysis.
Results: Correlation coefficients between the scaled
scores of children with cerebral palsy and those
presented in the PEDI original data were r = 0.890 for
self-care, r = 0.795 for mobility, and r = 0.943 for
social function. In children in GMFCS level I, discrete
scores increased with age, whereas in children in
levels III, IV, and V, scores for mobility almost reached
the plateau in the age band of 4 to <6 years.
Discussion: In the difficulty level of functional skills,
the greatest difference was observed in mobility,
suggesting the need to establish a difficulty level of
functional skills that is adapted to the abilities of
children with cerebral palsy.
Key words: cerebral palsy, Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), functional skills, Rasch analysis