A longitudinal study of outcome measures for children receiving early intervention services.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to compare the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) as measures of change in children who received early intervention services.


METHODS
Thirty-four children were stratified into 2 groups according to the presence of gross motor delay. The PEDI and MSEL were administered 3 times: at an average age of 18, 31, and 53 months of age. Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance.


RESULTS
The findings suggest that PEDI Functional Skills Scaled Scores were capable of measuring change in both groups of children. The standard scores on the PEDI Functional Skills Social Scale were found to be more sensitive to change than the MSEL Receptive and Expressive Language scores for children with motor delays.


CONCLUSIONS
Using PEDI scaled scores may be an effective strategy for measuring change in children receiving early intervention services.
Eigsti
Heidi Johnson
HJ
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, Provo, Utah, USA. heigsti@regis.edu
Chandler
Lynette
L
Robinson
Cordelia
C
Bodkin
Amy Winters
AW
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results