Differences between persons with right or left cerebral vascular accident on the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills.

Objective: Persons with right and left cerebral vascular accident (RCVA and LCVA) differ in terms of discrete impairments, but there is limited information with regard to how such impairments translate into differences in disability. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) persons with stroke have lower instrumental or domestic activities of daily living (IADL) ability than do matched nondisabled controls, (2) persons with RCVA do not differ from persons with LCVA in IADL ability, and (3) persons with RCVA and LCVA differ in specific motor and process skills that affect IADL performance.

Design: Descriptive comparison.

Setting: Subjects were tested in settings where rehabilitation services were received (home or clinic).

Subjects: 71 persons with RCVA, 76 persons with LCVA, and 83 community-living nondisabled individuals drawn from the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) database, matched for age, gender, and number of tasks performed.

Main Outcome Measure: AMPS, designed to measure type and severity of impairments manifested in the context of IADL performance. The AMPS was administered to all subjects in accordance with standardized testing procedures.

Results: The two stroke groups did not differ significantly in IADL ability, but both stroke groups had significantly lower IADL performance than did the nondisabled subjects. On the AMPS motor scale, persons with RCVA demonstrated greater impairment in pacing, transporting, and coordinating two body parts. Persons with LCVA demonstrated greater impairments in calibrating movements. No differences were found between the two groups in AMPS process skills.

Conclusions: Persons with RCVA and LCVA have hemisphere-specific differences in motor impairments, but do not differ significantly in IADL ability.