Bayley-III motor scale and neurological examination at 2 years do not predict motor skills at 4.5 years.
Nataliia Burakevych, Christopher Joel Dorman Mckinlay, Jane Marie Alsweiler and 2 others
PMID 27543144WHAT IT FOUND
Bayley-III motor scores and neurological exams at 2 years did not predict motor difficulties at 4.5 years.
Children with normal 2-year scores often developed significant motor problems later. Do not rely on these early assessments to rule out future motor issues in at-risk children.
Key findings
01Bayley-III motor scores at 2 years showed only a weak relationship with motor skills at 4.5 years and failed to accurately identify children with later motor difficulties.
02Routine neurological examination at 2 years did not predict motor outcomes at 4.5 years, with poor agreement between the two time points.
03A significant proportion of children identified as at risk for motor difficulty at 4.5 years had normal Bayley-III scores at 2 years.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study population consisted only of children born at risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia, so findings may not apply to the general population. MABC-2 reference values used were from the UK, not New Zealand, which may affect the accuracy of identifying risk in this cohort. Neurological examinations were conducted by different assessors at 2 and 4.5 years, which may have contributed to the poor agreement between time points. The Bayley-III motor scale may measure general developmental skills rather than specific skilled motor competence, which explains its poor predictive value for later motor tasks.
Declared interests
The authors stated they had no interests that might be perceived as a conflict or bias.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a normal Bayley-III motor score or neurological exam at 2 years means a child is free of motor difficulties. This study found that 70% of children with significant motor problems at 4.5 years had normal scores at 2 years. Early screening at 2 years has poor predictive value for later motor coordination issues.