Project Type
independent
Project Lead Center
Spaulding New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center
Project Start Date
10/01/2011
Project End Date
09/30/2016

The specific aim of the proposed site-specific project is to develop a mechanism to assess the functional abilities of children with SCI across their lifespan – critical information that the rehabilitation field currently lacks. This aim will be accomplished by linking scores from two recently developed contemporary functional outcome measures (Pedi SCI-CAT and Adult SCI-CAT). The proposed project will impact the rehabilitation field in the following ways: 1.) researchers can examine the long-term functional prognosis and patterns of change that occur over the lifespan of children with a SCI; 2.) clinicians will be able to compare and review functional scores as a child matures into adulthood to monitor and address changes in function over time; and 3.) for the first time, persons with SCI will have access to information about their projected function over their lifespan.