To develop an objective and scientific method to evaluate the brain injured and brain diseased persons with motor dysfunction, American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment was used as an exemplar. After the motor dysfunction due to brain injury or brain disease was confirmed, active range of motion and muscle strength of affected extremities were measured. Also, the total function of extremities was evaluated through the assessment of activities of daily living, fine coordination of hand, balance and gait. Then, the total score of manual muscle test and functional assessment of impaired upper and lower extremity were added, respectively. Spasticity of upper and lower extremity was used as minus factors. Patients with movement disorder such as Parkinson's disease were assessed based on the degree of dysfunction in response to medication. We develop a new rating system based on the concept of total score.
Brain Diseases/classification/*diagnosis/physiopathology ; Brain Injuries/classification/*diagnosis/physiopathology ; *Disability Evaluation ; Hand/physiopathology ; Humans ; Korea ; Lower Extremity/physiopathology ; Motor Skills ; Program Development ; Severity of Illness Index ; Upper Extremity/physiopathology

The permanent impairment evaluation for children in developmental stage is very difficult and it is even impossible in some cases. The impairment evaluation for developing children has not yet been included in the guideline of the American Medical Association. Due to frequent medical and social demands in Korea, we developed an impairment evaluation guideline for motor impairment, intellectual disability/mental retardation, developmental speech-language disorder and epilepsy caused by pediatric cerebral injuries, or cerebral lesions other than the developmental disorders such as autism. With the help of various literature and foreign institutions, we developed our in order to develop a scientific guideline for pediatric impairment that is suited to Korean cultural background and social condition.
Brain/physiopathology ; Brain Diseases/*complications ; Brain Injuries/complications ; Child ; Developmental Disabilities/classification/*diagnosis/etiology ; *Disability Evaluation ; *Disabled Children ; Humans ; Korea ; Language Development Disorders/classification/diagnosis/etiology ; Mental Disorders/classification/diagnosis/etiology ; Program Development ; Seizures/classification/diagnosis/etiology ; Severity of Illness Index