Hi Pam,

I do not disagree with your questioning the term low muscle tone due to its various meanings and biomechanical definitions. However, I cannot be sure that weakness, joint hypermobility etc cover exactly what I mean when I clinically use the term "low muscle tone". I remember a course I attended years ago by Yvonne Burns in Queensland it being drilled into us that you cannot see low muscle tone, you must feel it. Perhaps, as we have classification of high muscle tone-through the Tardieu and Modified Ashworth Scale, low muscle tone may be given a rating on a scale that depicts the degree or severity at which a muscle is affected by "low tone" as it were. The MAI touches on it but there is probably too much room for clinical error, the NSMDA also touches on it, but again asks the examiner to rate, normal, to high or low tone.
I am just very aware that I have felt children with "low muscle tone" that to look at their movement patterns and assess muscle strength probably don't appear to have tone problems, so therefore under the task performance and impairments model may not come out with any problems, but you know, when that child becomes a teen or adult who had "low muscle tone" but were told by the physio they had no problems, they may develop issues. I am sure there is too much ramble here but don't have time now to read it over, I hope some of it makes sense.
Thanks for the thought provoking post, I look forward to the study that gives us more clarification.