Activities Scale for Kids- Performance Version: 2016
Data was reviewed and is up-to-date.
Below is a summary of an article that utilized the Activities Scale for Kids: Performance Version:
Postans N, Wright P, Bromwich W, Wilkinson I, Farmer SE, Swain I. The combined effect of dynamic splinting and neuromuscular electrical stimulation in reducing wrist and elbow contractures in six children with cerebral palsy. J. Prosthet. Orthot. Int. 2010; 34(1): 10-19.
The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and efficacy of using both dynamic splinting (DS) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in children presenting with upper extremity contractures resulting from cerebral palsy (CP) on function and range of motion (ROM). The study utilized a longitudinal single participant study design. Six children with wrist and elbow contractures resulting from cerebral palsy (aged 7-16 years) were recruited from pediatric clinics. The inclusion criteria for this study included: diagnosis of spastic CP, decreased ROM at the elbow and/or the wrist, and ability to comply with interventions. Exclusions were made for patients with dystonia, epilepsy, and any previous surgery or anti-spasticity medications in the previous 6 months. The intervention included 12 weeks of treatment with DS for 1 hr/day with a NMES used in combination for the last half hour of the treatment session. Several outcome measures were used to assess the intervention’s effect on function, ROM, physical disability, and quality of life and were measured at baseline, 12 weeks, and after a 12-week follow-up. These included the Melbourne Assessment, Pediatric Assessment of Disability Index (PEDI), Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL), and Activity Scale for Kids (ASK). Passive elbow extension was in two patients receiving therapy for elbow contracture and wrist ROM improve in one patient being treated for wrist contracture. However, function was not shown to improve. The study concluded that the combination of DS and NMES may be beneficial for improving passive ROM in patients with spastic diplegia but noted that this improvement in ROM was not associated with functional gains. Additionally, there is room for further research in this study.
Weaknesses of this study included a lack of a control group, study design, small sample size, non-standard doses of the NMES, use of the equipment in the home such that compliance could not be ensured, and lack of statistical analysis provided. Furthermore, the presentation of the results could have been made clearer. This study would benefit from comparison between patients as well as the longitudinal single participant study design. This article would need further research to support the use of DS in combination with NMES for this population. A final weakness was the fact that the NMES machines were donated by an external source that may not be unbiased.
Strengths of the study were use of several outcome measures, inclusion of a follow-up period, and description of selection process.
6 responses to “Activities Scale for Kids- Performance Version: 2016”
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I haven’t used the ASK, but I think this is a great test in the fact that the child reports their own answers of their functional ability. This reinforces the idea that we really need to focus on what the child’s goals are and what they notice about their everyday lifestyle, not just want the parents or teaching think. Even though in the original review of the test it takes that parents and child’s answers are similar, I would like to know exactly how the results are similar/differ as the child and the parent fill out the same test for the same individual. I like the study you picked because it demonstrates that gains in ROM do not necessarily translate to functional gains-and it is functional gains that we, the clinician, and the patient, the child, really care about. Overall great review and article review. I would like to administer this test in person and see how easy it is to do.
It sounds to me like the Activity Scale for Kids-Performance version would be a good assessment tool to have in your tool bag for many different reasons. A few of the reasons being that it does not take much time to complete (average being 9 minutes), it requires no specific training on the therapist’s part, it has a good correlation with clinician observation, it has excellent test-retest reliability and it has no floor affect. This will give you a quick snapshot of physical functioning and disability in kids with musculoskeletal disorders. Since this is such an easy questionnaire to perform and gain good information on, I would be curious to how often it is used in the clinical setting.
The activities scale for kids sounds like it is a good outcome measure to give during an initial evaluation for the child to take home and fill out with their parents. It sounds like a good addition to our “tool boxes” in order to gain information from our patients. It also seems like it can be used with a variety of different diagnoses in order to get the current function of a pediatric patient. I could have used this outcome measure with a six year old patient that I saw with an ankle sprain.
The activities scale for kids seems like a very good assessment to give during an initial evaluation to a patient for them to take home and fill out with their parent. It is a good addition to our “tool box” in order to find out information about our patients. It also sounds like it can be used with various diagnoses that can be seen within the pediatric population in order to get their perspective of their functional status. I could have utilized this outcome measure with a six year old patient that I treated with an ankle sprain.
I found this test and measure, as well as the article summary to be pretty interesting. I like that the ASK includes many essential skills necessary for a child to function. However, I’m having a hard time determining if “’did do’ in the last week” equates to independently, or can “did do” mean that the child completed the task with some assistance from a parent, caregiver or sibling?
Jasmine, Great question! The test measures what the child can do independently without the help of a caregiver!