Screening for motor deficits using the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) in children with language impairment.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association between the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) motor and self-care domains with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-second edition (PDMS-2) gross motor and fine motor sub-scales.


METHODS
Forty children (35-62 months) with primary language impairment (PLI) were recruited. The PEDI was completed at admission and the PDMS-2 was administered within 1 month by an OT, who was unaware of the PEDI results.


RESULTS
Correlation between PEDI mobility and PDMS-2 gross motor domains was r = 0.23 (p = 0.15) and between PEDI self-care and PDMS-2 fine motor domains was r = 0.12 (p = 0.47). Associations between PEDI and PDMS-2 scores for age, gender and severity of language impairment sub-groups were poor-to-moderate.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings indicate the PEDI is not sufficiently accurate to screen for motor deficits in children with PLI. More sensitive measures of motor performance are needed to detect subtle motor deficits in children with PLI.
Mayrand
L
L
Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Centre de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Réadaptation du Montréal Métropolitain (CRIR), Quebec, Canada.
Mazer
B
B
Menard
S
S
Chilingaryan
G
G
D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009048:Motor Skills; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors