National Study of Excellence in Pediatric Physical Therapy Education: Design, Methods, and Results.

Objective: The purposes of this study were to identify and describe the attributes of excellence and innovation in professional pediatric physical therapy education and develop a conceptual framework identifying dimensions of excellence.

Methods: A multimethod case study design based on a grounded theory framework was used. Data collection included review of artifacts and field interviews (individual and focus group).

Validating functional measures of physical ability for aging people with intellectual developmental disability.

Unlike the aging population without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), few standardized performance measures exist to assess physical function and risk for adverse outcomes such as nonfatal, unintentional injuries. We modified 3 selected standardized performance tools in the areas of general fitness (2-Minute Walk Test), balance and gait (Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment I), and functional independence (Modified Barthel Index) for administration with people with IDD. The modified tools were piloted with 30 participants.