Effect of Context in Rating of Mobility Activities in Children with Disabilities: An Assessment Using the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which environmental context influences the functional performance (caregiver assistance) ratings of children with severe disabilities. Specifically, we investigated differences in the ratings of functional performance when children were rated by their parents at home and by school rehabilitation personnel when reporting on the same children functioning in an educational setting. We examined the context effect (home versus school setting) as a facet in the multifacet Rasch model. The results indicated that the parents and rehabilitation personnel can both be trained to the level of making similar observational judgments, although the parents tended to be stricter in their ratings.