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Early Assessment of Balance (EAB)
Early Assessment of Balance (EAB)
| Availability |
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Early Assessment of Balance. |
| Classification |
Exploratory: Cerebral Palsy (CP)
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| Short Description of Instrument |
Construct measured: Static and Dynamic Sitting Balance.
Generic vs. disease specific: Disease specific
Means of administration: Examiner administered.
Intended respondent: Administrator.
Background: The Early Assessment of Balance (EAB) was created using items from the Movement Assessment of Infants (MAI) and the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS). It contains 2 parts, (1) Head and Trunk Postural Control and (2) Sitting & Standing Postural Control. This tool measures balance of the head, trunk in sitting, and standing for young children with Cerebral Palsy (CP).
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| Comments/Special Instructions |
This measure was created with use of items from the Movement Assessment of Infants (MAI) (Chandler et al., 1980) and the Pediatric Balance Scale (PBS) (Franjoine et al., 2003).
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| Scoring |
Scoring: Seven items from the MAI and 6 items from the PBS are included in this measure. Part 1 contains the MAI items. All the MAI items are scored 0 (no response) to 3 (consistent full response) with 5 items having a score for both the left and right side. A total of 36 points are possible in Part 1. If the child is Gross Motor Function Classification Scale (GMFCS) Ior II, testing can be started at Part 2. Part 2 contains the PBS items. The scoring system of the PBS was modified. The points for the sitting items ranged from 0–6 points, the static standing items 0–10 points and the dynamic standing items to 0–16 points. A total of 64 points are possible in Part 2.
Administration Time: 15 to 30 minutes
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| Rationale/Justification |
Strengths/Weaknesses: The EAB is a test of posture and balance that has been validated across all GMFCS levels. Its weaknesses are that its still relatively new and has only been validated in children up to 60 months of age.
Psychometric Properties: The EAB has been validated in a large sample of children with CP, ages 1.5 to 5 years and GMFCS levels I-V. The EAB showed ability to distinguish between all GMFCS levels. It had some difficulty distinguishing between some of the age groups tested (btween 18 to 60 months) and did not show a difference based on sex.
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| References |
McCoy SW, Bartlett DJ, Yocum A, Jeffries L, Fiss AL, Chiarello L, Palisano RJ. Development and validity of the early clinical assessment of balance for young children with cerebral palsy. Dev Neurorehabil. 2014;17(6):375-383.
Other References:
Chandler LS, Andrew MS, Swanson MW. Movement Assessment of Infants: A Manual. Rolling Bay, WA1980 [cited 2016 7 July]. Available from: https://depts.washington.edu/dbpeds/Clinics%20and%20Activities/Forms-HRIF%20(MAI-1980).pdf.
Franjoine MR, Gunther JS, Taylor MJ. Pediatric balance scale: a modified version of the berg balance scale for the school-age child with mild to moderate motor impairment. Pediatr Phys Ther. 2003;15(2):114-128.
Randall KE, Bartlett DJ, McCoy SW. Measuring postural stability in young children with cerebral palsy: a comparison of 2 instruments. Pediatr Phys Ther. 2014;26(3):332-337.
Document last updated July 2019
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