Ataxia rating scales are age‐dependent in healthy children

Aim To investigate ataxia rating scales in children for reliability and the effect of age and sex. Method Three independent neuropaediatric observers cross‐sectionally scored a set of paediatric ataxia rating scales in a group of 52 healthy children (26 males, 26 females) aged 4 to 16 years (mean age 10y 5mo SD 3y 11mo). The investigated scales involved the commonly applied International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS), the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA), the Brief Ataxia Rating Scale (BARS), and PEG‐board tests. We investigated the interrelatedness between individual ataxia scales, the influence of age and sex, inter‐ and intra‐observer agreement, and test–retest reliability. Results Spearman's rank correlations revealed strong correlations between ICARS, SARA BARS, and PEG‐board test (all p