Miller Function and Participation Scales

1. Miller
Function
&
Participation
Scales
Monica Kim, Johnny Nguyen,
Nirali Patel, John Resurreccion

2. Agenda/Outline
Introductions
Background
Description of M-FUN
Administering the Assessment
Summary
Quiz

3. Monica Kim, OTS
B.A in Human Development at UCSD in La Jolla, CA
M.S in Occupational Therapy at Stanbridge University in Irvine, CA

4. Johnny Nguyen, OTS
B.S in Exercise Science at Carroll University in Waukesha, WI
M.S in Occupational Therapy at Stanbridge University in Irvine, CA

5. Nirali Patel, OTS
B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior at UCI in Irvine, CA
M.S in Occupational Therapy at Stanbridge University in Irvine, CA

6. John Resurreccion, OTS
B.S in Architecture at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, CA
M.S in Occupational Therapy at Stanbridge University in Irvine, CA

7. Introduction
Standardized tool used to assess young children’s performance abilities as well
as their participation in their daily life within their school and home
environment
Third assessment created by Lucy Jane Miller Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA
Focuses on children’s developmental delays and challenges
Created in 2006
Also developed
Miller Assessment for Preschoolers in 1998
First STEp: a Screening Tool for Evaluating Preschoolers in 1993
Spirtos, M., & Cremin, K. (2008). Article: the Miller Function and Participation Scales,
M-FUN-PS
Occupational Therapy, 36(2), 24-27.

8. Development of the M-FUN-PS
The International Classification of Function, Disability, and Health (ICF) called
for need to focus less on disability and more on the needs and abilities of the
whole child
M-FUN combines ideologies and terminology from different constructs in order
to create a comprehensive assessment tool
Evaluates a child’s performance within the context of his or her life situation by
examining participation, activities, and foundations
Provides a functional framework and normative information to assist in
determining eligibility for services
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function and Participation Scale (M-FUN). San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment Inc.

9. Uses
M-FUN can be administered to determine or identify the following:
A visual motor, fine motor, and/or gross motor delay
Eligibility for services to address motor delays
Motor abilities that may benefit from home and/or classroom adaptations and
accommodations
Underlying neuromotor foundational issues
Curriculum-relevant interventions
A child’s progress toward intervention goals
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function & Participation Scales: M-FUN [computer software]. Available from
www.therapybc.ca/eLibrary/docsResources/M-FUN%20Assessment%20Review.

10. Purpose
Designed for children 2 years 6 months through 7 years 11 months
May be used for children older than 7 years 11 months with developmental delays, but there is no
normative data available for this population
Includes a performance and participation component
Performance component includes a workbook to stimulate visual motor abilities and play activities
to assess fine and gross motor abilities
Participation component includes observation checklists which rate a child’s participation in home
and school environments
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function & Participation Scales: M-FUN [computer software]. Available from
www.therapybc.ca/eLibrary/docsResources/M-FUN%20Assessment%20Review.doc

11. Population
Assessment is geared towards children who may have mild to moderate motor
delays
The M-FUN addresses an age range from 2 years 6 months to 7 years 11
months
Can be used for older children in the intervention planning process
Can be used as an outcome measure without the normative component*
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function & Participation Scales: M-FUN [computer software]. Available from
www.therapybc.ca/eLibrary/docsResources/M-FUN%20Assessment%20Review.do

12. Performance Component
Yields a visual motor, fine motor, and gross motor normative scale score
Each test may be administered independently or all at once
Consists of
15 activities for children ages 2 years 6 months to 5 years 11 months
16 activities for children ages 6 years 0 months to 7 years 11 months
For children of all ages, a Behavioral Rating assessment is given following each
test
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function & Participation Scales: M-FUN [computer software]. Available from
www.therapybc.ca/eLibrary/docsResources/M-FUN%20Assessment%20Review

13. Participation Component
Includes three measures of a child’s participation at home or school
The Home Observations Checklist
Caregiver rates child’s participation in ADL’s and leisure in the home on a 4-point scale
The Classroom Observations Checklist
Teacher or examiner rates child’s participation in classroom activities on a 4-point scale
The Test Observation Checklist
Examiner rates child’s behavior during M-FUN testing on a 4-point scale
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function & Participation Scales: M-FUN [computer software]. Available from
www.therapybc.ca/eLibrary/docsResources/M-FUN%20Assessment%20Review.d

14. Validity & Reliability
Inter rater reliability
Used five pairs of examiners for 29 children
Correlation between rater’s scores
.91 for visual motor
.93 for fine motor
.91 for gross motor
Validity
Comparison between M-FUN-PS and the Miller Assessment of Preschoolers (MAP)
Correlation ranged from 0.47 - 0.83
Spirtos, M., & Cremin, K. (2008). Article: the Miller Function and Participation Scales,
M-FUNPS: a critical appraisal.
Journal Of Occupational Therapy, 36(2), 24-27.

15. Standardization Process
Norm-referenced data enables administrators to compare a child’s score to the
performances of other children in the same age in the standardization
sample.
Normative sample: 414 children in the USA, distributed throughout age bands,
gender, geographic areas of U.S., parent education (measure of
socioeconomic status), and ethnicity; 2004-2005.
Normative data reported in 6 month age intervals except 5:0 –7:11 (1 year)
Sample sizes for each age group ranged from 45-60 kids
6.8% of the children received some type of school service or were identified as
having a specific condition requiring PT or OT
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function & Participation Scales: M-FUN [computer software]. Available from

16. Administering the M-FUN
Hidden Forks (visual motor; 60 sec)
Jumping Game (gross motor; 10 sec, 60 sec)
Copying a Sentence (fine motor; 90 sec)
Draw a Kid Game (fine motor; 60 sec)
Throw & Catch Game (gross motor)Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, Inc.

17. Hidden Forks
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, In
① Point to fork on top of page and say:
“See the fork right here? Mark this fork
with your pen.”
② Use your finger to make a slash
over the fork, then instruct child to do the
same with pen.
③ Point to spoon at top of page and
say: “Here is a spoon. Do not mark any
spoons.”

18. Hidden Forks
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, In
④ Direct child to rest of page and say:
“This picture has forks and spoons
hidden in the picture. Just mark the
forks.”
⑤ Then say: “Do not mark any spoons.”
⑥ Provide cues as necessary if child
has not found all forks before 30
seconds are up.

19. Hidden Forks
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, In

20. Throw and Catch Game
① Have the child stand on a mat.
② Place a small ball in the child’s hands and say: “Hold the ball! I’m going to
stand over there.
③ Stand 4 ft from the child and extend your arms and say: “Okay, now throw the
ball to me”
④ Provide the child with as many opportunities as needed to understand the
task.
⑤ Perform the throwing and catching task standing 8 ft and 12 ft apart.
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, In

21. The Jumping Game
Teaching and Practice Item- Have the child stand on the mat and say: “Now we
are going to jump! Stand here. Jump up and down!”
Use verbal cues as necessary. You may demonstrate task or cue hips (Note:
if child cannot do this task, skip items 1 to 6 and go to last page of record
form for follow-up questions)
① Jump in place (10 seconds)
“Now jump in place. I’ll tell you when to stop”
② Jump in together/out together (10 seconds)
“In” (while feet are in), “Out” (while feet are out)
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson,

22. The Jumping Game
③ Jump side to side (10 seconds)
“Now you’re going to jump from side to side. Start here.”
“Now I’ll go back to the other side”
“Now you jump . I’ll tell you when to stop”
④ Jump forward and backward (10 seconds)
“Now you’re going to jump forwards and backwards. Do this”
“Now you jump forwards and backwards until I tell you to stop.”
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson,

23. The Jumping Game
⑤ Jump in triangle pattern (10 seconds)
“This is a fun one! We’re going to jump in a triangle.”
“Now jump from here until I tell you to stop.”
⑥ Jump (60 seconds)
“This is the last jump! Jump up and down right here until I tell you to stop.”
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson,

24. Copying a Sentence
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, Inc
① Instruct child to look at page. Say: “This sentence
says Fuzzy ducks jump over the white box. When I say
go, copy this sentence on these lines. Remember to
write neatly. Ready? Go!”
② Record the number of letters the child writes in the
first 20 seconds, then between 20 to 40 seconds, and
then between 40 to 60 seconds. Record the total
number of seconds to complete the task. The time limit
allowed is 120 seconds
③ If child is unable to print two consecutive words,
gets frustrated, or is not finished within the 120 second
time limit, discontinue the game

25. Copying a Sentence
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, Inc

26. Drawing A Kid Game
① Draw a picture of yourself on a blank page (Make
sure to include a head, body, arms, legs, facial
features, and clothes; do not include fine details such
as belts or buttons)
② Instruct child to draw picture on separate page
and include a head, body, arms, legs, facial features,
and clothes. Provide cues as necessary to ensure
child understands task
③ Once child is ready to draw, remove the sample
image and say that he or she has one-minute to finish

27. Drawing A Kid Game

28. Drawing A Kid Game

29. Benefits of the M-FUN-PS
Client-centered
The assessment is geared towards children, and they find it fun and appealing
Holistic
Compared to other assessments who solely focus on acquiring a child’s motor abilities
Scores on the observation checklist help provide an indication as to how poor the motor
performance affects a child’s participation at home or school
Leniency
Parts of the assessment can be utilized without completing in its entirety
Example: an OT can get standardised results for visual motor and gross motor without
doing the fine motor component or observation checklists
Miller Function & Participation Scales (M-FUN-PS) Review. (2016, January 13). OT Equip [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://otequip.info/2016/01/13/mfun.html

30. Complications of M-FUN-PS
Gross motor section can be difficult
Requires prior setup of measured lines and markers
Requires smooth walls and concrete floors for a ball can be kicked for soccer section
Obtaining a standardized score can be troublesome
If one item in a performance domain can’t be done, the standard score for the domain can’t be
calculated
Ex: If it starts raining, the soccer game may not be completed, and the standardised gross
motor section can’t be obtained; even for upper body items
Preparation time
May take a longer preparation time than other assessments that are similar
Miller Function & Participation Scales (M-FUN-PS) Review. (2016, January 13). OT Equip [Blog post]. Retrieved fro
http://otequip.info/2016/01/13/mfun.html

31. Summary/Conclusion
The M-FUN-PS is a comprehensive assessment that measures all aspects of a
child’s performance ability in their home and school environment
The assessment is client-centered, and the child enjoys completing the VM,
GM, and FM activities required
The examiner can choose to complete certain sections, rather than
administering the test completely
The M-FUN-PS can be used with older children as an outcome measure or
intervention planning
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function and Participation Scale (M-FUN). San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment Inc.

32. References
Miller Function & Participation Scales (M-FUN-PS) Review. (2016, January 13). OT Equip [Blog post]. Retrieved from
http://otequip.info/2016/01/13/mfun.html
Miller, L. J. (2006). Miller function & participation scales: Examiner’s manual. Bloomington, MN: NCS Pearson, Inc.
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function and Participation Scale (M-FUN). San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Assessment Inc.
Miller, L.J. (2006). Miller Function & Participation Scales: M-FUN [computer software]. Available from
www.therapybc.ca/eLibrary/docsResources/M-FUN%20Assessment%20Review.doc
Spirtos, M., & Cremin, K. (2008). Article: the Miller Function and Participation Scales, M-FUN-PS: a critical appraisal. Irish
Journal Of Occupational Therapy, 36(2), 24-27.