• Assesses an individual’s ability to perform one handed reaching tasks while standing
  • Consists of 21 tasks which involve performing both gross and fine motor skills; crossing midline; and lifting and lowering light and heavy objects. Examples of tasks include: lifting light objects down from the lowest shelf; stacking checkers on the counter top at the midline; lifting heavy objects up to the top shelf.

Clinical Considerations

  • The tasks simulate skills required to work in a kitchen environment but these skills are easily transferred to other environments (e.g. shopping). The tasks cover a broad range of difficulty.
  • The specialized equipment may limit its usefulness in some clinical/research settings.
  • The FST was originally developed using people without SCI but has been adapted for people with SCI. However, the only testing of the FST for SCI has been done in individuals with T3-6 injuries.

ICF Domain

Activity ▶ Mobility

Administration

  • Tasks are done as quickly as possible and the individual is allowed to use assistive devices such as knee-ankle-foot-orthoses (KAFO) or functional neuromuscular stimulation.
  • The mean time to complete the entire test (i.e. total standing time) was 15.58 + 2.99 minutes. Time required for each task ranged from 1.86 to 13.70 seconds for individuals with SCI.

Number of Items

21 (6 of which are the same as in the Jebsen Test of Hand Function)

Equipment

  • Standard Jebsen Test board
  • A set of shelves mounted on a counter top 36 inches high (to simulate a kitchen cabinet).

Scoring

Time in minutes or seconds to complete each of the 21 tasks is recorded.

Languages

N/A

Training Required

Training is required to administer the test.

Availability

Currently unavailable

Measurement Property Summary

Number of studies reporting psychometric properties: 1

Interpretability

  • No normative data or published data was found for the SCI population at this time.
  • MCID: not established in SCI
  • SEM: not established in SCI
  • MDC: not established in SCI

Reliability – Low to High

For SCI individuals standing with knee-ankle-foot-orthoses (KAFOs):

  • High test-retest reliability for 12 FST items: ICC > 0.75
  • Moderate test-restest reliability for 9 FST items: ICC < 0.75
  • Low test-retest reliability for 3 FST items: ICC < 0.4

(Triolo et al. 1994; n= 13, 10 non-SCI (2M, 8F), 3 SCI (1M, 2F); age: 23.5 (3.9), range 15-30 years; SCI patients: complete T3-T6 injury)

Validity

  • Not established in SCI
  • ANOVAs performed indicated significant (P<.05) differences between people with and without SCI, suggesting that FST may be sensitive to various standing impairments.

(Triolo et al. 1994; n= 13, 10 non-SCI (2M, 8F), 3 SCI (1M, 2F); age: 23.5 (3.9), range 15-30 years; SCI patients: complete T3-T6 injury)

Responsiveness

No values were reported for the responsiveness of the FST for the SCI population.

Floor/Ceiling Effect

No values were reported for the presence of floor/ceiling effects in the FST for the SCI population.

Reviewers

Dr. Carlos L. Cano-Herrera, Tyra Chu

Date Last Updated

December 31, 2024

Triolo RJ, Bevelheimer T, Eisenhower G, Wormser D. Inter-rater reliability of a clinical test of standing function. J Spinal Cord Med. 1994;18:14-22.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7640969

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