DOES VARIATION BETWEEN TIMED UP AND GO (TUG) AND TUG-COGNITIVE CORRELATE WITH SCORES ON THE MOVEMENT ASSESSMENT BATTERY FOR CHILDREN: A PILOT STUDY

The Timed Up and Go (TUG) is a brief outcome measure which can be used with a secondary cognitive task (TUG-COG) to assess balance. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd edition (MABC-2) is a longer, 8 item test that examines balance and coordination in children ages 4-16. The purpose of this study was to compare the difference between scores on the TUG and TUG-COG with scores on the MABC-2 in children ages 7-10 years old. The research hypothesis was that a negative correlation would be identified between higher scores on the MABC-2 and lower time difference on the TUG tasks. Eight children between the ages of 7-10 participated in this study. Exclusion criteria included severe communication deficit and inability to walk independently. Participants were tested with the MABC-2, the TUG, and the TUG-COG using backwards counting from 30. Subjective measures included the Checklist from the MABC-2 and the PROMIS Pediatric Item Bank v2.0.
Finding a correlation between the MABC-2 and ΔTUG will allow for use of the TUG and TUG-COG as quick screening tools in pediatric physical therapy settings to determine whether further coordination and balance testing is indicated. Understanding the link between dual task performance and coordination and balance deficits is an important step toward identifying and optimizing physical therapy services for children with coordination deficits such as Developmental Coordination Disorder. Additional testing of children with coordination deficits is recommended with a larger sample size to establish significance with this finding.