Establishing Reliability and Validity for "Make My Day" - A New Tool for Assessing Young Arab-Israeli Children's Typical Daily Activities

There is a paucity of literature regarding the daily routines of young children (4-7years) and their perception of their performance. Research indicates that children's involvement in treatment therapy improves their self-consciousness, which contributes in return to the therapy's progress. Until recently, occupational therapists set goals for children by involving their parents in the planning. However, recent studies indicate that children are aware of their performance and can provide reliable data, given an evaluation that is adapted to their stage of development. "Make My Day" (MMD) is a new evaluation developed for young children, which provides information regarding the child's performance with respect to their daily activities. The MMD incorporates two versions - one for the children's self-report and the other for the parent's report. Participants included 62 healthy 4- to 7-year-old children of Arab-Israeli decent and their parents. They were assessed using the MMD, Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting (PEGS), Time Organization and Participation (TOPS) and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Correlations between the MMD and the TOPS/PEGS were examined regarding the differences between children's and parents' reports of performance in three age groups (concurrent validity). Results demonstrated that children's self-report of their occupational performance in daily tasks are reliable and valid. Thus, occupational therapists may obtain data from the child himself or herself and not only from the parents. Further research on the MMD is recommended in other clinical populations to increase our knowledge of their daily functioning and of MMD's validity.