Functional motor strategies and observable qualitative components in the motor development of infants aged 2 to 15 months. a Delphi consensus study

Introduction Currently, most scales that assess motor development in infants with developmental delay or cerebral palsy do not fit infants aged 2 to 15 months and/or do not address the quality of motor control and movement or associated strategies to perform a task. Objective To identify through consensus and from a neurodevelopmental perspective, qualitative aspects of motor control associated with postural development and functionality, with a view to developing a qualitative assessment for motor development in infants aged 2 to 15 months, previously identified with developmental delay or diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Material and method Thirty-one health professionals, including physicians, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, who met the selection criteria, participated in a Delphi consensus study, initially consisting of two rounds of surveys, with feedback and coding of concepts using the Atlas.ti software. Subsequently, an expert panel organised the structure and content of the scale. Finally, a third consensus round was conducted and the results were measured through a frequency analysis. Results A variety of qualitative components of clinically-observable motor control were found. Alignment, movement and support base, selected through consensus, were integrated into a preliminary scale, developed to detect functional motor behaviour of motor development and observable qualitative strategies in infants aged 2 to 15 months. Conclusions Consensus was reached on several qualitative components that can be observed in typical and atypical developmental strategies in infants, allowing the inclusion of this information in the design of a specific qualitative assessment scale.