title: Motor function measure: validation of a short form for young children with neuromuscular diseases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To validate a useful version of the Motor Function Measure (MFM) in children with neuromuscular diseases aged <7 years old.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two prospective cohort studies that documented the MFM completion of children aged between 2 and 7 years old.
  
  
  METHODS
  French-speaking rehabilitation departments from France, Belgium, and Switzerland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy children (n=194) and children with a neuromuscular disease (n=88).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were rated by the MFM either once or twice by trained medical professionals, with a delay between the 2 MFMs ranging between 8 and 30 days.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intra- and interrater reliability of the MFM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The subtests making up the MFM-32, a scale monitoring severity and progression of motor function in patients with a neuromuscular disease in 3 functional domains, were carried out in healthy children aged 2 to 7 years. Twenty items of the MFM-32 were successfully completed by these children and were used to constitute the MFM-20. Principal component analysis of the MFM-20 confirmed the 3 functional domains. Inter- and intrarater reliability of the 3 subscores and total score were high (intraclass correlation coefficient >.90), and discriminant validity was good.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MFM-20 can be used as an outcome measure for assessment of motor function in young children with neuromuscular disease.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neuromuscular Disease Reference Centre, l'Escale, Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Bron, France. Electronic address: capucine.de-lattre@chu-lyon.fr.
authors.forename: Capucine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Lattre
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Payan
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vuillerot
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rippert
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Castro
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bérard
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Poirot
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011594:Psychometrics
keywords: ANOVA; CGI; CMT; Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease; Clinical Global Impression; DMD; Disability evaluation; Duchenne muscular dystrophy; HFMS; Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale; ICC; MFM; Motor Function Measure; Neuromuscular diseases; Rehabilitation; SMA; VAS; analysis of variance; intraclass correlation coefficient; spinal muscular atrophy; visual analog scale