Selective Control Assessment of the Lower Extremity for Infants and Toddlers (Mini-SCALE): Development and validation of a clinical assessment.
Loretta A Staudt, Barbara Sargent, Lillian Chen and 1 others
PMID 40751442WHAT IT FOUND
Mini-SCALE scores matched gross motor skill levels and separated typical development from CP or CP risk.
The hip item is unreliable under 9 months, so cap total scores at 8 points for that age group.
Key findings
01Mini-SCALE total scores correlated strongly with gross motor skill levels (r_s = 0.80 for the whole group, r_s = 0.83 for children with or at risk for CP).
02Typically developing children scored significantly higher on Mini-SCALE (mean 18.5) than children with or at risk for CP (mean 11.7).
03The hip item is not reliably demonstrated by infants under 9 months, so a maximum total limb score of 8 points is accepted for that age group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Diagnoses of CP and risk for CP relied on parent report and physician designation rather than direct clinical confirmation. The cohort likely included children with mixed-type CP because distinguishing motor features at very young ages is difficult. Many video recordings were made via teleconferencing during the pandemic, which reduced video quality. Reliability (interrater, intrarater, test-retest) and sensitivity to change have not yet been established.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the Shapiro Family Foundation, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NIH/UCLA CTSI), and The Stone Foundation. No specific conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use Mini-SCALE as a diagnostic tool for CP. It measures selective motor control and shows group differences, but reliability and sensitivity to change are unknown. Also, do not expect infants under 9 months to score above 8 points, as the hip item is developmentally inappropriate at that age.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →