Predictive validity of the "Movement Assessment of Infants".

Early identification of neuromotor deficits, cerebral palsy or other neurological handicaps, is a focus of concern for neurologists, pediatricians, and developmental therapists. Among infants at risk for developing these handicaps are those with low birthweight, idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome, and early central nervous system insults. The Movement Assessment of infants (MAI), a neuromotor assessment tool, was developed for the purpose of evaluating high-risk infants participating in the University of Washington's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Followup Clinic. The predictive validity of the MAI was evaluated for 246 infants for whom assessments had been completed at four months and for whom at least one set of followup data was available at either one or two years of age. Correlations between the MAI total risk score and all five of the outcome measures at one and two years were highly significant. The clinical relevance of this study in the use of the MAI as an evaluation tool for identifying infants with neuromotor dysfunction is discussed.