Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PDMS-2)

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Original Editor - Wanda van Niekerk

Top Contributors - Wanda van Niekerk, Jess Bell, Kim Jackson, Mariam Hashem and Robin Tacchetti  

Introduction

The Peabody Developmental Motor Scale was first developed and published in 1983 by Rhonda Folio and Rebecca Fewell. A second edition was published in 2000 by the same authors.

No specific course or accreditation is needed to be able to conduct the test, but it is valuable to have good knowledge on the developmental stages of a child. A wide variety of healthcare professionals, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, doctors and physical education teachers, can perform the test in the assessment of a child with possible developmental delay or issues. A good knowledge base in normal and typical development as well as in atypical development is recommended. This will make it easier to understand the nuances in the development of children. (Atara Taragin course)

The assessment kit is available for purchase online.

Benefits of the PDMS-2

• Excellent tool for the evaluation of the motor development of young children by providing separate tests and grading scales for both gross motor skills and fine motor skills
• Test battery standardisation carried out with a total of 2003 children in the USA and Canada and is the first battery that was standardised on a national level
• Only tool of its kind that combines evaluation with planned intervention. A planned program of 104 motor teaching and therapy activities is included.
• These activities are organised based on the child’s development. The program can help in:
  • the development of skills, provided that the evaluation of a child’s skills based on the test battery has been completed.

Application of the PDMS-2

Test was designed to identify developmental delays in children. The test can be used in various populations and settings to achieve specific goals. These may include:

• Assessing a child's motor competence relative to his/her peers
  • For example in a clinical setting where children with various diagnosis and a wide range of neuromuscular impairments can be assessed and therapy provided
• Identifying delays or disorders in development
  • For example in a school setting –  i.e. At a preschool, to pick up on children that may have developmental delay as well as their strengths and weaknesses
• Useful tool to evaluate a child's progress
  • Test was develop to identify strengths and weaknesses in a child’s motor development. Administering the test before and after a physical therapy intervention plan is a good way to document the child’s progress and also to measure the efficacy of the intervention.
• Research purposes
  • PMDS-2 is the gold standard and is often used in research and literature to assess the nature of motor development in various populations of children
• Specific skill deficits can be used to develop individualised goals.
  • Helps in designing treatment goals and treatment plan based on the child’s strengths and weaknesses in motor development

Administrator Qualification

No specific course or accreditation is needed to be able to conduct the test, but it is valuable to have good knowledge on the developmental stages of a child. A wide variety of healthcare professionals can perform the test in the assessment of a child with possible developmental delay or issues. These may include:

• physiotherapists
• occupational therapists
• psychologists
• doctors
• physical education teachers

A good knowledge base in normal and typical development as well as in atypical development is recommended. This will make it easier to understand the nuances in the development of children.It is also recommended to have a thorough understanding of:

• test statistics
• general procedure governing test administration
• scoring and interpretation of score
• specific information about gross and fine motor skills testing
• development in children who are not progressing typical to their peers

Validity and Reliability of PDMS-2

The PDMS-2 has been proven as a reliable and valid measurement tool in various paediatric populations, such as:

• Children on the autistic spectrum
• Children with cerebral palsy
• Premature children and babies
• Children receiving physical therapy for various diagnoses

Target Population

The Peabody Developmental Motor Scale -2 is appropriate and should be used for children from birth to 5 years (72 months) old.

PDMS-2 Toolkit

The Peabody Developmental Motor Scale -2 Toolkit is available for online purchase and consists of the following materials that are required to administer the test:

• Examiners manual
  • includes the history of test development
  • describes the validity and reliability measures of the test
  • contains the various scoring charts
• The Guide to Item Administration
  • includes a description and images of each of the activities or skills assessed
• Motor Activities Program Book
  • includes various ways/options in which to teach a child the skills that he/she is having difficulty with
  • the importance of various skills is also discussed and highlighted
• Profile/Summary form
  • document where all raw data can be added to create a scoring graph
• Examiners Record Booklet
  • used by therapist when administering the test to score all activities or skills assessed
• Test Manipulatives document
  • indicates what items are needed to administer the test, for example a 8-inch ball, tennis ball, string, chair, tape measure, etc.
• Peabody Motor Development Chart

Administration of PDMS-2

Authors' Advice

• Read the manual beforehand
• Have someone assist who is familiar with the test
• Run the test three times before actually concluding a score
• Calm and nice environment
• Be sensitive to the child’s limitations – avoid the child becoming frustrated

Important Tips

• All assessment items should be presented in a precise manner with specific verbal cues and demonstrations
• Administer test in an environment with minimal distractions
• The area where test is administered should be set-up beforehand, areas marked out and pre-measured and equipment ready. This is to avoid any disruptions during the test and allow the test to flow. Examples of areas to pre-measure include:
  • Line on the floor clearly marked (spray paint or duct tape) – 4 inches wide and 8 feet long
  • Area where child needs to run also marked out – 10 feet (3m) 30 feet (9m), 45 feet (13m) or converted to the metric system
  • Jumping distances demarcated
  • Jumping from different heights – have benches already ready and at correct heights

Description of the PDMS-2

The Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PDMS-2) assesses fine and gross motor skills of children from birth to six years old relative to their peers. There are four subtests about gross motor skills and two subtests about fine motor skills. The gross motor subtests include:

• Reflexes (birth to 11 months)
• Stationary performances (all ages)
• Locomotion (all ages)
• Object manipulation (12 months and older)

The fine motor skills subtests include:

• Grasping (all ages)
• Visual-motor integration (all ages)

The total score is determined by the sum of the points of each subscale/item. Every item is rated on a 3-point rating scale. Internal consistency of the scale is very high (alpha = 0.97).

Administering the Gross Motor Function Part of the PDMS-2

Often in multidisciplinary team set-ups, the physiotherapist will assess the gross motor function part and an occupational therapist will focus on the fine motor section. As already mentioned the complete PDMS-2 has six subtests. The first four focuses on gross motor skills and the last two on fine motor skills. For the purpose of this page, focus will be on the gross motor skill subtests.

Reflexes

• This investigates the child’s reaction to outside stimuli or the child's ability to automatically react to environmental events.
• This test is only administered to children under the age of 1 year, as reflexes are typically integrated by the time a child is 12 months old.
• Eight different items are assessed under reflexes. Some of these are:
  • Walking reflex
  • Positioning Reflex: Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (integrated)
  • Landau Reaction
  • Protecting Reaction - Forward
  • Protection Reaction - Side
  • Right Reaction - Forward
  • Protecting Reaction - Backward

Stationary

• This subtest assesses a child's ability to sustain control of his/her body within its centre of gravity and the ability to retain equilibrium
• Thirty different items are assessed under Stationary. These can include:
  • rotating head
  • stabilising trunk
  • sitting
  • raising to sit
  • standing on 1 leg
  • standing on toes
  • initiation of movements such as:
    • sit-ups
    • push-ups

Locomotion

• This measures a child's ability to move from one place to another
• This is the largest section of the PDMS-2 and assesses 89 items in this subtest. Actions that are measured include:
  • crawling
  • walking
  • running
  • hopping
  • jumping forward
  • bearing weight
  • rolling
  • pushing up
  • moving forward
  • creeping
  • scooting
  • pivoting
  • stairs climbing
  • walking line
  • jumping hurdles
  • skipping

Object Manipulation

• This subtest measures a child's ability to manipulate balls, such as catching, throwing and kicking
• These skills are not apparent until a child is 11 months old, therefor this subtest is only administered in children ages 12 months and older
• This subtest includes 24 items. These include:
  • catching a ball
  • throwing a ball (overhand and underhand)
  • kicking a ball
  • hitting target (overhand and underhand)
  • bouncing a ball
  • catching a bounced ball

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