Standardized Walking Obstacle Course (SWOC): Reliability and Validity of a New Functional Measurement Tool for Children

Abstract

This study reports reliability of the Standardized Walking Obstacle Course (SWOC) and concurrent validity with the Timed Up and Go (TUG) for use in children with and without developmental disabilities. Seventy-three children completed the SWOC and TUG during each of two sessions scheduled one week apart. Two raters took measures of time and number of steps on the SWOC to correlate with the same measures on the TUG. Very high interrater reliabilities for time (intercorrelation coefficient [ICC] 0.99) and number of steps (ICC 0.94-0.99) noted. High intrarater reliabilities recorded for time (ICC 0.83-0.97) and number of steps (ICC 0.84-0.96). Significant correlations (p < 0.05) between the TUG and SWOC were moderate to very high for time (r = 0.72-0.90) and number of steps (r = 0.63-0.92). The SWOC demonstrates good reliability within and between raters and concurrent validity with the TUG for use with children to establish their functional ambulation capability. The SWOC could easily be used in any setting for any child who can follow the directions and walk without an assistive device. Further testing is needed of the use of the SWOC to detect change and measure the extent of the environment's influence on activity and participation for different populations of children.