A new tool for identifying children with motor problems: Reliability and validity study

This study examined reliability and validity of the Zuk Assessment for diagnosis of motor problems and determined standardized scores in an Israeli population aged 5 to 6 years. For standardization, 156 children recruited from 13 Kindergartens of typically developing children were evaluated with the Zuk Assessment. Intrarater and interrater reliability were examined on 2 samples of 15 and 13 children, respectively. A total of 151 children referred for motor problems were examined with the Zuk and Movement Assessment Battery for Children assessment tools for validation of the Zuk Assessment. Findings showed that the Zuk total score had a normal distribution similar to that found in the literature identifying 5.1% (-2 standard deviations) and 12% (between -1 and -2 standard deviations) of children with motor-related problems. Reliability was indicated by high intraclass correlation scores both in intrarater (intraclass correlation =.89) and interrater (intraclass correlation =.95) paradigms. The Zuk assessment identified differences in subgroups, namely, typical, suspicious, and impaired, as found in the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, confirming the Zuk validity.