A Computerized Testing System for Measuring Motor and Sensory Integrative Functions in Children

Developing a Computerized Testing System for Measuring Motor and Sensory Integrative Functions in School-aged Children With Intellectual Disabilities

Assessment of the motor and sensory integrative functions (MSI) is a key component of an overall health and functional evaluation for school-aged children with intellectual disabilities (ID). The ability of students with ID to perform age-appropriate motor tasks and adaptive behaviors (end product of sensory integration) can help determine the long-term effects of special education curriculum/interventions and the quality of an overall school-based rehabilitation program.We will develop item banks for 3 core domains of MSI (i.e., gross motor, fine motor, and sensory integration) for school-aged children with ID. About 200-250 participants will be recruited.

Assessment of the motor and sensory integrative functions (MSI) is a key component of an overall health and functional evaluation for school-aged children with intellectual disabilities (ID). The ability of students with ID to perform age-appropriate motor tasks and adaptive behaviors (end product of sensory integration) can help determine the long-term effects of special education curriculum/interventions and the quality of an overall school-based rehabilitation program.

However, several challenges exist in measuring MSI for school-aged children with ID. First, most measures of MSI vary in content (domains), causing difficulty in the selection of relevant MSI measures. Second, most measures of MSI lack robust evidence of psychometric properties (e.g., reliability and responsiveness). Third, the minimal important difference (MID) and minimal detectable change (MDC) of most MSI measures for ID are largely unknown, which limits the interpretation of change scores in schools and clinical settings. Fourth, most MSI measures are time-consuming to administer, placing a burden of administration on both teachers/therapists and children. Finally, all the measures were developed in western countries and their use has not yet been validated for ID populations in Taiwan. An efficient and in-depth understanding of the students' motor and sensory integrative functions can help the school teachers implementing appropriate curriculum, monitoring the progress, managing the classroom, and further enhancing the overall learning for school-aged students with ID. A validated and convenient computerized testing system is urgently needed.

The Rasch model is useful in developing precise measures. Furthermore, a computerized adaptive testing (CAT) system can provide efficient measurements. Therefore, in this 3-year project, we will develop a Computerized Testing system for measuring Motor and Sensory Integrative Functioning in School-aged Children with Intellectual Disabilities (MSI-ID) to overcome the aforementioned challenges. We will determine whether the MSI-ID is efficient and psychometrically robust.

Method: We will develop item banks for 3 core domains of MSI (i.e., gross motor, fine motor, and sensory integration) for school-aged children with ID. We will select the 3 domains based on both core elements of a child's overall function and priorities of caregivers/teachers as determined in our preliminary study. We will construct 100 items for each domain based on focus group interviews of teachers / caregivers of students with ID and therapists, related theories and assessments, and suggestions from the experts. Then we will administer each item on 100 school-aged children with various levels of ID severity and age.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. ages between 6 and 15 years; (2) a diagnosis of ID determined by the board-certified physicians at local designated hospitals according to the standards put forth by the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, clinical modification (ICD-10 codes); and (3) absence of serious emotional , behavioral disturbances or any other major disease affecting premorbid sensory processing and motor functions (e.g., muscular dystrophy).

Exclusion Criteria:

• None