Measuring motor function of children with mild/moderate intellectual impairment using the HiMAT/ Revised HiMAT compared to BOT2: a pilot validation study

Measuring motor function of children with mild/ moderate intellectual impairment using the HiMAT/ Revised HiMAT compared to BOT2: a pilot validation study Dominic Gunther, Bond University Nancy Low Choy, Bond University Nikki Milne, Bond University Helen Keogh, Department of Family and Community Services – Aging, Disability and Home Care NSW Joy Richmond, Department of Family and Community Services – Aging, Disability and Home Care NSW Mike Steele, Bond University Question: Does the High-level Mobility Assessment Tool (HiMAT) or the revised HiMAT provide valid measures of motor performance in children with mild to moderate intellectual impairment compared to the gold standard reference, Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Second Edition (BOT2). Design: A prospective observational study. Participants: Thirteen children (12 males; one female) with a mean age of 11.5 years, categorised with mild (n=7; IQ = 55-75) to moderate (n=6; IQ = 35-55) intellectual impairment participated in this study with parental consent. Outcome Measures: Motor tasks included on the HiMAT tool (11 high-level walking tasks/stairs/run, skip, hop and bound; Score/54); revised HiMAT tool (8 items – no stairs or bound on affected limb; Score/32) and BOT2 (Fine manual control, manual coordination, bilateral coordination; balance; body coordination; running speed/ agility; strength; strength/agility) were completed by the children. Results: Pearson r correlations revealed that the HiMAT total score was moderately associated with three components of the BOT2: Bilateral coordination (r=.619, p<0.05); Running speed/agility (r=.685, p<0.01); and Strength (r=.681, p<0.05) but not Total Motor Composite score (r=.212, p>0.05). The revised HiMAT total score had moderate to very high associations with each gross motor total point and scale scores of the BOT2 (r=.591-.900, p<0.05) and moderate associations with the Total Motor Composite Score (r=.612, p<0.05). Conclusion: This pilot data indicate that the Revised HiMAT may be more valid than the HiMAT to use with children who have an intellectual impairment. Ongoing research is required to consolidate the findings of this pilot validation study.