A new inventory of 166 milestones and developmental tasks was designed and given to parents of 173 children with myelodysplasia to use over a 2 1/2-year period to record their children's development. The inventory included items in the categories of self-help (including independent toileting), personal-social development, and gross motor development. The children were placed in one of four subgroups according to their level of paralysis. For each motor-level group, the percentage of those performing each item at various ages was calculated. The ages of routine performance of selected self-help and personal-social items are reported for 20, 50, and 80 percent achievement for the children for whom the data were known. There was a tendency for the less paralyzed children to learn skills more quickly than their more paralyzed peers. However, the wide age ranges within groups for learning individual skills indicate that factors other than the level of paralysis affect the rate of development, and these factors need to be identified. The data provided represent a reasonable estimate of when children with varying degrees of paralysis can first be expected to perform developmental tasks. The tables can be used to establish learning objectives and programs so that more children with myelodysplasia can learn independence at an earlier age.

SUMMARY The development of independence in daily living skills of 256 patients with spina bifida was assessed by means of a new Functional Activities scoring system. The score was derived from nine categories of activity; five are to do with self‐care, three with locomotion and one with social interaction. The reasons for the variation in achievement between individuals with the same degree of paralysis are discussed, as are the differences in learning curves for single activities. The scoring system enables a quantitative assessment to be made of the current status of an individual patient, and enables more realistic therapeutic goals to be set. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die Unabhängigkeitsentwicklung in Dingen des täglichen Lebens bei Kindem mit Spina bifida Die Entwicklung der Selbständigkeit im täglichen Leben wurde bei 256 Patienten mit Spina bifida durch ein neues Testsystem geprüft, das lebenswichtige Tätigkeiten berücksichtigt. Die Beurteilung basiert auf neun verschiedenen Tätigkeiten: fünf beziehen sich auf die Selbstversorgung, drei auf die Motorik und eine auf das soziale Verhalten. Die Gründe werden diskutiert, warum Patienten mit den gleichen Lähmungen verschieden Testergebnisse erzielen und warum Unterschiede im Erlernen einzelner Tätigkeiten bestehen. Das Testsystem ermöglicht eine quantitative Einstufung des gegenwärtigen Status eines einzelnen Patienten und eine realistischere therapeutische Zielsetzung. RESUMEN Valoración del desarrollo de la independencia en las habilidades de la vida diaria en pacientes con espina bífida Se valoró el desarrollo de la independencia en las habilidades de la vida diaria en 256 pacientes con espina bífida, por medio del nuevo sistema de puntaje de Actividades Funcionales. El puntaje se derivó de nueve categorias‐ actividad; cinco tienen que ver con el cuidado propio, tres con la locomoción, y uno con la interacción social. Se discuten las razones de las variaciones en la consecución entre individuos con el mismo grado de parálisis, como son las diferencias en las curvas de aprendizaje para actividades simples. El sistema de puntaje puede ser utilizado para hacer una valoración cuantitativa del estado actual de pacientes individuates y para facilitar el establecimiento de metas terapéuticas más realistas.

Cross Training is a strength and fitness program, with constantly varied exercises, high intensity, and functional movements. Compared to other contact sports such as soccer, judo, and basketball, this type of training does not have higher rates of injuries. The objective was to present functional aspects of the upper limbs of individuals practicing "Cross Training". Methodology: 19 individuals between 20 and 59 years of age, Cross training practitioners with a minimum time of 6 (six) months of practice were included. As exclusion criteria, individuals who presented some lesion at the time of data collection. The following instruments were used for data collection: an upper limb dynamometer to assess handgrip strength; a goniometer to measure the range of motion of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints; a test of the box and blocks for evaluation of manual dexterity. Conclusion: the practitioners presented good fine motor coordination and handgrip strength, however, 42% of the practitioners presented hyper-medial rotation of the elbow, however, the data collected showed a good range of motion of the shoulder of these individuals.