Purpose: To compare construct validity, interrater and test-retest reliabilities of the Pediatric Reach Test and the Early Clinical Assessment of Balance (ECAB), and their relationships with the Gross Motor Function Measure, 66-item version, Basal and Ceiling approach (GMFM-66-B&C) to appraise clinical utility of postural stability measures for children with cerebral palsy (CP).
Methods: A total of 28 children with CP, 2 to 7 years old, across all functional ability levels participated in 2 assessments over 2 weeks. Two assessors scored the measures during the first assessment.
Results: Both measures demonstrated construct validity, rs of 0.88 (P < .001). Both measures correlated with GMFM-66-B&C, rs > 0.95. Interrater and test-retest reliabilities were stronger for the ECAB than for the Pediatric Reach Test (intraclass correlation coefficients > 0.98 vs 0.87-0.94). The ECAB demonstrated lower measurement error and proportionately smaller minimal detectable change values.
Conclusion: The ECAB is considered the better measure of postural stability among children with CP.