Pediatric Physical Therapy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this work was to describe input from key partners to inform the scope and priorities for a clinical practice guideline (CPG) pertaining to physical therapy services provided to children and youth with Down syndrome (DS). METHODS: A 68-item survey was completed by interventionists and parents (n = 296) of children and youth with DS. RESULTS: The most prevalent physical therapy interventions currently being performed included tummy time, postural control activities, activity-based interventions, and play-based interventions...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the agreement between Gross Motor Ability Estimator-2 (GMAE-2) and Gross Motor Ability Estimator-3 (GMAE-3) calculations of Gross Motor Function Measure-66 (GMFM-66) scores in infants and young children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: Data from 53 children 5 to 53 months of age were analyzed. Agreement between GMFM-66 scores using the GMAE-2 and the GMAE-3 was calculated using Bland-Altman plots and interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs)...

PURPOSE: To gather information concerning the current state of students' wheelchair (WC) use in US schools from the perspective of school-based therapists. METHODS: This descriptive study used a Web-based survey to gather information regarding factors that facilitated or hindered student WC use at school, the frequency at which various tasks related to WC provision were performed, and factors that would facilitate students' independence with WC use. RESULTS: A dependent manual WC was the most common type of WC mobility used at school...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of alterations in muscle length of the biceps in various elbow postures during shoulder elevation and muscle activation. METHODS: Participants aged 5 years and older with a birth brachial plexus injury were asked to perform elevation shoulder (abduction and flexion) in 7 elbow conditions. Surface electromyography was applied to bilateral biceps and triceps. RESULTS: Peak shoulder elevation was present in the immobilized 20° elbow posture...

PURPOSE: To create and implement a next-generation, custom data logger to automatically track modified ride-on car (MROC) use in home and community settings, establish feasibility of long-term remote collection of community MROC use data, describe trends of MROC use, and explore parent perception of the MROC. METHODS: In this descriptive study, a custom data logger was constructed and integrated into MROCs using an Arduino Pro-Mini microprocessor to capture real-time use data remotely...

PURPOSE: To investigate caregivers' perceptions of using a ride-on car (ROC) and observe behavioral changes in their children following ROC training and conventional therapy. METHODS: The study included 37 toddlers with motor delays and their caregivers, divided into an ROC training group (27 participants) and a conventional therapy group (10 participants). A binary, multiple-choice, and open-ended questionnaire was administered before and after a 3-month intervention period...

PURPOSE: To evaluate patient-caregiver beliefs of relative importance across 4 domains while living with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, anonymous survey study conducted in an academic medical center. Participants with JIA and caregivers (N = 151) completed a Likert-style survey to rate items by importance of knowledge about 4 domains: medications, physical activity, routine measures, and quality of life. RESULTS: Knowledge of medication issues ranked higher than the remaining 3 domains (4...

PURPOSE: Although physical therapy (PT) positively impacts exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children with hematological cancers, the optimal time for intervention is unknown. We compared the effects of PT administered before and after initial cancer treatment on the exercise capacity and HRQOL of children with hematological cancer. METHODS: The participants were allocated to early (before initiating treatment) and late PT (after initiating treatment) groups...

PURPOSE: To summarize and appraise the emerging evidence on early motor skills of infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the association of early motor delays to later ASD diagnosis/characteristics. METHODS: A literature search was conducted for studies published from 2000 to 2023 on the motor skills of infants later diagnosed with ASD, followed by screening and data extraction. RESULTS: Current evidence suggested presence of early motor deficits including poor anticipatory movements, postural control, and gross/fine motor skills during the first 2 years of ASD...

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PURPOSE: This case report describes daily leg movement quantity and kinematic characteristics of a child with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) with 2 copies of SMN2, who was symptomatic at the time of treatment with disease-modifying therapies. KEY POINTS: Compared with infants with typical development, this child had differing values for leg movement quantity, duration, average acceleration, and peak acceleration measured across full days in the natural environment by wearable sensors...

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PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the Head Control Scale's (HCS's) responsiveness and concurrent validity with the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS). METHODS: The HCS and the AIMS were administered to 50 infants and young children. Thirty children were reevaluated at hospital discharge or at 18 months of age. RESULTS: A statistically significant positive change was noted in mean score from the initial HCS assessment to the second assessment for total score and all position scores...

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PURPOSE: To investigate the reliability of a measure of fidelity of therapist delivery, quantify fidelity of delivery, and determine factors impacting fidelity in the Rehabilitation EArly for Congenital Hemiplegia (REACH) clinical trial. METHODS: Ninety-five infants (aged 3-9 months) with unilateral cerebral palsy participated in the REACH clinical trial. The Therapist Fidelity Checklist (TFC) evaluated key intervention components. Video-recorded intervention sessions were scored using the TFC...

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