Current status and advances in the assessment of hypotonia in children

ZHANG Ting; MA Yuhan; ZHAO Jiayuan; LI Wei; L&#xDC; Zhihai

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0914

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (8) : 920-925. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0914

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Current status and advances in the assessment of hypotonia in children

ZHANG Ting¹, MA Yuhan¹, ZHAO Jiayuan¹, LI Wei², LÜ Zhihai³

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Abstract

Hypotonia is a common pediatric motor dysfunction, frequently observed in neurodevelopmental disorders. In recent years, the prevalence of hypotonia in infants and young children has been increasing and is often accompanied by delayed motor development and impairments in cognitive function. Current clinical assessments rely heavily on examiner experience and lack standardized quantitative tools, resulting in high subjectivity and poor repeatability. This article reviews the current applications and limitations of commonly used clinical rating scales and objective measurement techniques for assessing pediatric hypotonia. It summarizes evidence on their reliability, validity, and practical use in China, and proposes optimization strategies focusing on standardization, localization, and intelligent assessment, with the aim of informing early screening and intervention for hypotonia in Chinese children.

Key words

hypotonia / assessment / neurodevelopment / motor dysfunction / children

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ZHANG Ting, MA Yuhan, ZHAO Jiayuan, LI Wei, LÜ Zhihai. Current status and advances in the assessment of hypotonia in children[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2026, 34(8): 920-925 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0914

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