Seminar-3-01-01
EVAIiLtTION OF ADL
Derick T. Wade (Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, Oxford, Great Britain).
Activities of Daily Living are those behaviours which every person must undertake to survive and participate in normal social life: feed; wash; dress; toilet; and get about. This talk will suggest that ADL is a sensible separate construct, and that measures of ADL should be restricted to ADL, and should not include (for example) communication or cooking. It will also suggest that the best single measure for routine clinical use is the Barthel ADL index, because (a) it is the most widely used measure in research; (b) there is more published information about it than any other measure; and (c) it is simple to use, easily communicated, obviously relevant, and not dependent upon any special training.
Seminar-3-01-02
BIOLOGIC PATTERNS OF DISABILITY
C V Granger (University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA)
Abstract: The purpose is to demonstrate that standardized functional assessment measures display different patterns of item responses depending upon the nature of the dysfunction affecting persons tested. The method of investigation included Rasch analysis using the BIGSTEPS program. The Rasch logistic probability model permits evaluation of the meaning of the relationships between person ability and item difficulty. The results are that the FIM-TM instrument demonstrates two cognition patterns and five motor patterns. Analyses of an outpatient measure designed for assessment of physical functioning of persons with musculoskeletal disorders demonstrates three patterns. In conclusion, these patterns are useful to confirm that behavioral responses of persons to the challenges of daily living arc consistent with or are at variance with expected relationships of item scores.
