Journal of Neonatal Biology

The test of infant motor performance: An evidence-based tool for assessing outcomes of neonatal practice

9^th International Conference on Neonatology and Pediatric Neurology

November 28-30, 2016 Valencia, Spain

Suzann K Campbell

University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Neonatal Biol

Abstract:

More than 50 peer-reviewed publications document the reliability and validity of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) for a) diagnosing developmental delay in infants from 34 weeks postmenstrual age through 17 weeks post-term corrected age (CA), b) educating parents about preterm infant motor development, and c) assessing outcomes of intervention in early infancy. The TIMP is a 25-minute test of functional motor activity, demonstrated to measure movement responses similar to those elicited by the handling of mothers during bathing, dressing and play. A shorter screening version facilitates use of the TIMP for younger or more fragile infants. The TIMP was normed on 990 infants reflecting the population of low birthweight infants in the U.S. and yielding age standards for diagnosis of delayed motor development. Research in Brazil and the Netherlands suggest that the age norms are appropriate also for those populations. Focus group studies showed that watching a videotaped TIMP assessment is one preferred way for parents to learn about preterm infant motor development. Five controlled clinical trials in the U.S., Norway and Thailand demonstrated that the TIMP is sensitive to sensorimotor interventions of various types, both in the neonatal intensive care unit and post-hospital discharge. Good performance on the TIMP at 3-4 months CA is highly predictive of normal motor performance at preschool age. The TIMP is available in English, French and Portuguese.

Biography :

Suzann K Campbell has completed her BS and MS in Physical Therapy and PhD in Neurophysiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is Professor Emerita and former Head of the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has published more than 60 papers in peer-reviewed journals, is the Founding Editor of Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, and the Senior Editor of “Physical Therapy for Children”, a textbook for the practice of pediatric physical therapy. She is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.

Email: skc@uic.edu