MABC---2-Ax-Review

MOVEMENTASSESSMENTBATTERYFORCHILDREN-2Author:SheilaHenderson,DavidSugden,AnnaBarnettPURPOSE:TheaimoftheMovementAssessmentBatteryforChildren–2(M’ABC–2)istoidentifyanddescribechildrenwithmovementdifficulties.TheM’ABC–2Testisastandardizedassessmenttoolthatrequiresachildtoperformaseriesofmotortasksinastrictlyspecificwaytoobjectivelymeasuremotorimpairment.TheM’ABC–2isarevisionoftheMovementAssessmentBatteryforChildren(M’ABC),originallynamedtheTestofMotorImpairment(TOMI).TheM’ABC–2canbeusedforidentification,interventionplanning,programevaluation,andasaresearchtool.TheM’ABC–2Checklistisacomplementarytooltoalertteacherstotheexistenceofmovementdifficulties.POPULATION:TheM’ABC–2Testisdesignedforstudentsaged3years0monthsto16years11monthswhoeitherhaveestablishedmovementdifficultiesorarebelievedtohaveproblemsinthemovementdomain.Forexample,onemayusetheM’ABC–2withstudentswhohaveclumsy/awkwardmotorskills,ADHD,FASD,DCD,Tourette’sSyndrome,ASD,WilliamsSyndrome,orFragileX.Asacautionarycomment,itisnotappropriatetousetheM’ABC–2withchildrenwhohaveaseveredisability,haveverylimiteduseoftheirextremities,orareinawheelchair.TheM’ABC–2Checklistfocusesonhowachildmanageseverydaytasksthatareencounteredathomeandatschool.TheM’ABC–2Checklistisdesignedforstudent5-12yearsofage.BoththeM’ABC–2TestandChecklistfocusontheidentificationanddescriptionofmotorfunctioninchildren,yetcomplementeachotherinthewayinformationisgathered.TESTMATERIAL:TheM’ABC–2TestMaterialsinclude:M’ABC–2Examiner’sManualM’ABC–2ScoreSheet(forappropriateageband)M’ABC–2TestKitM’ABC–2CarryingCasewithFloorMatsM’ABC–2ChecklistTheExamineralsoneedstoensurethereisanappropriatetableandchair,aswellaswallandfloorspaceavailableforthetasks.TIMETOADMIN:TheM’ABC–2Testtakesapproximately20-40minutesdependingontheageofthechild,anddegreeofdifficultyexperienced,aswelltheexperienceoftheexaminer.TheM’ABC–2Checklistcanbecompletedbyateacher,parent,orprofessionalinvolvedwiththestudentandtakes10minutesorlesstocomplete.TESTCOMPONENTS:TheM’ABC–2Testisdividedintothreeagebands:AgeBand1:3-6yearsAgeBand2:7-10yearsAgeBand3:11-16yearsWithineachageband,eighttasksaregroupedunderthreeheadings:manualdexterity,aimingandcatching,andbalance.BoththeM’ABC–2TestandtheM’ABC–2Checklisthaveamotorandanon-motorcomponent.ADMINSTRATION:Ideally,thetestitemsshouldbeadministeredintheordertheyappearintheExaminer’sManual.However,inaclinicalsetting,examinersmaychangethisorderiftheyfeelitwouldhelptomaintainachild’sinterestandmotivationoravoidfeelingsoffailure(iftheorderischanged,makeanoteontherecordformforfuturereference).Fortheadministrationofeachtaskwithintheagebands,pleaserefertotheExaminer’sManual.Eachtasksalsoprovidesqualitativeinformationonhowthechildapproachesandperformsthetask.Oncescored,refertotheM’ABC–2EcologicalInterventionManualtoassistininterventionplanning.TheM’ABC–2Checklistprovidesuserswithatotalscorewhichisthenmappedontoa“trafficlight”system,showingwhetherachildfallsintothenormalrange(greenzone),“atrisk”categoryrequiringfurthermonitoring(amberzone),orishighlylikelytohaveamoreseriousmovementproblem(redzone).Althoughascoreforthenon-motorcomponentcanbeobtainedforresearchpurposes,inpracticalsettingsamorequalitativeinterpretationisrecommended.STRENGTHS:LargeagerangeConsistentscoringsystemusingstandardscoresandpercentilesEcologicalInterventionManualtoassistwithinterventionplanningUserfriendlymanual,includingcolouredpicturesoftaskset-upUserfriendlyscoresheet,includingtipsregardingadministrationScoringtablesareeasytofindinaseparateappendixLIMITATIONS:Requiresconsiderableset-up(i.e.measuringdistances)MABC–2doesnotincludeacuttingtaskRequirespracticetobecomeefficientwithadministrationandscoringForsometheamountofvisualinformationonthepagemaybeoverwhelmingSTANDARDIZATION:TheM’ABC–2TestandChecklistwerestandardizedconcurrently.Thesampleconsistedof1,172childrenintheUKofvarieddemographics.VALIDITY:Validityreferstothedegreetowhichtheoryandevidencesupportthestatedaimsofthetest.ContentValidity:AttainedbyanexpertpanelthatunanimouslyjudgedthecontentoftheM’ABC–2.FaceValidity:Attainedbyfeedbackfromdifferentprofessionalsinvolvedwithchildrenwithmovementdifficulties.Criterion-RelatedValidity:Threestudiescompletedduringstandardizationprovideevidenceofcriterion-relatedanddiscriminativevalidityoftheM’ABC–2.RELIABILITY:Overallreliabilityspeaksoftheprecision,consistencyandstabilityofthetestovertimeandacrossexaminers.Inter-raterReliability:Researchhasdemonstratedhighinter-raterreliabilityfortheM’ABC(ICC=0.94-1.0).AstudyofseventasksoftheM’ABC–2AgeBand3demonstratedexcellentinter-raterreliability(ICC=0.92-1.0).Test-Retest:StudiesoftheM’ABC–2demonstratedquestionabletest-retestreliabilityfortheAimingandCatchingtasksin3-4yearolds.Asmallstudyofallagebandsdemonstratedgoodreliabilityforcomponentscores(r=0.73-0.84)andtotaltestscores(r=0.80).