Huddersfield Functional Index

Original Editor - Your name will be added here if you created the original content for this page.

Top Contributors - Mandy Roscher, Kim Jackson, Tarina van der Stockt and Robin Tacchetti  

Introduction[1][edit | edit source]

The Huddersfield Functional Index (HFI) is an outcome measure that measures progress in Rebound Therapy. It was originally designed by Richard Wattreson in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. It was then reworked in collaboration with Paul Kaye and Eddy Anderson to be follow grades 1, 2 and 3 of the Winstrada Trampoline Development Programme.

The movement progressions of the Winstrada Trampolining Programme were designed so that students are simply scored on whether they can or cannot complete a movement. This model is not appropriate for individuals with disabilities. For a person with physical or intellectual challenges it may take a significant amount of time to achieve a single movement or they may never be able to achieve a movement independently.

Purpose of HFI[1][edit | edit source]

In the HFI, each movement, of the Winstrada Trampoline Programme, is scored on a scale from 0-4. A score of 0 means they are unable to complete it and 4 means they can complete it competently and independently. A total for each section is scored and progress is tracked on a graph found within the manual.

By scoring each movement out of 4, it allows one to track small progressions. In a severely disabled person these may be significant milestones. For some individuals, they may never achieve a 4 for an activity. For example, a child with Cerebral Palsy may not be able to “sit and initiate movement by pushing hands into the bed independently” (Exercise 19) but they “could initiate the movement independently for short periods”. They would then score a 3 on the HFI and move on to the next movement.

Since 2022 there are now HFI indicators for Flexi-Bounce Therapy. Flexi-Bounce Therapy is the use of an orthopaedic quality rebounder as a daily  'between sessions' complement to Rebound Therapy. See this link for more information.

Intended Population[1][edit | edit source]

The Huddersfield Functional Index was designed to track progression in Rebound Therapy for individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities.

Evidence[edit | edit source]

To date there have been no formal studies carried out to assess the psychometric properties of the HFI.

Links[edit | edit source]

Revised Huddersfield Functional Index Manual

Resources[edit | edit source]

[2]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kaye P. Huddersfield Functional Index. 2018-19 Edition. West Sussex: Winstrada.com, 2018.
  2. Paul Kaye, Huddersfield Functional Index for Rebound Therapy. Available from https://vimeo.com/68830606