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What are the measures that you use frequently in pediatric neurorehabilitation?

Rebecca Martin, OTR/L, OTD, CPAM, CKTP

January 25, 2016

Question

What are the measures that you use frequently in pediatric neurorehabilitation?

Answer

In kids over the age of 12, we will do a SCIM. For kids under the age of 12, we will do a WeeFIM. At this point, we do a box and blocks test or a 9-hole peg test. Kids that were injured really young and therefore having developmental issues, we will do the Peabody. I always say that I want to try and use the COPM more, but I will be honest, I do not use the COPM often and I think that is because it is a time issue. We do always complete strength testing, manual muscle testing, pinch test, and dynamometer. That is across the board for all of our kids. After these tests are completed and depending on a child's level of function, we will also do something more or less specific. For example, with our upper extremity patients we will do things that will cue the capabilities of the upper extremity and for the kids who are walking, we will do a 6-minute walk. These things are not validated in kids but are the best option right now.


rebecca martin

Rebecca Martin, OTR/L, OTD, CPAM, CKTP

Dr. Rebecca Martin is the Manager of Clinical Education and Training at the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (ICSCI) at Kennedy Krieger Institute and an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  Dr. Martin received her Bachelors of Science from Boston University in 2001 and her Occupational Therapy Doctorate from Rocky Mountain University in 2008. As the Manager of Clinical Education and Training, she is responsible for program development, staff training, and oversight of the clinical research program.  Dr. Martin speaks nationally on topics related to Activity-Based Rehabilitation; she has taught many continuing education courses in the areas of neurological pathology, rehabilitation, and research. Her current research is in novel applications of electrical stimulation to restore functions lost to spinal cord injury.


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