Use of the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency in occupational therapy
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In addition to the need for good measurement tools in occupational therapy, there is a need for the tools to be used knowledgeably. The purpose of this article is to investigate the usefulness of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) for both descriptive (diagnostic) and evaluative (change over time) purposes. METHOD: The typical profile of subtest scores for children with mild motor problems revealed that certain subtests of the BOTMP may be better indicators of motor problems for these children than others. An analysis also was performed to compare the use of raw (point) scores with standard (age-adjusted) scores in evaluating change. RESULTS: Four subtests that provide a greater degree of discrimination between children with and without motor problems were identified. Raw (points) scores were found to provide a more valid measure of change over time than standard (age-related) scores. CONCLUSION: We recommend that, for clinical use, the BOTMP subtest standard scores be used for diagnostic purposes and that the raw scores be used for evaluative purposes.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Longer institutionalization histories were associated with significantly lower scores than shorter institutionalization histories on vestibular-proprioceptive, visual, and praxis areas of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests, as well as balance.
“Similarly, longer institutionalization histories were associated with significantly lower scores than shorter institutionalization histories on vestibular-proprioceptive, visual, and praxis areas of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests,23 as well as balance.24”
From Motor outcomes in children exposed to early psychosocial deprivation (2014) · cites this paper as [24]
Postinstitutionalized children have delays in balance and bilateral coordination compared with never institutionalized children which placement in a family setting does not adequately remediate.
“postinstitutionalized children have delays in balance and bilateral coordination compared with never institutionalized children which placement in a family setting does not adequately remediate.24”
From Motor outcomes in children exposed to early psychosocial deprivation (2014) · cites this paper as [24]
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Cools, W., Martelaer, K. D., Samaey, C., et al. (2009) · PubMed · Cited by 412 · see citing works
Wilson, P. H. (2005) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01409.x · Cited by 239 · see citing works
Goulding, A., Jones, I. E., Taylor, R. W., et al. (2003) · Gait & Posture · doi:10.1016/s0966-6362(02)00161-3 · Cited by 222 · see citing works
“The Bruininks /Oseretsky sub-test of balance consists of 8 sections yielding a maximum possible score of 32 [17].”
Arsenic Exposure and Motor Function among Children in Bangladesh
Parvez, F., Wasserman, G. A., Factor-Litvak, P. R., Liu, X., Slavkovich, V. N., Siddique, A. B., Sultana, R., Sultana, R., Islam, T., Levy, D., et al. (2011) · Environmental Health Perspectives · doi:10.1289/ehp.1103548 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
“A primary strength of this study is the use of a well-standardized multidomain measure of children’s motor functioning (Cairney et al. 2009; Deitz et al. 2007; Rodger et al. 2003; Wang TN et al. 2009; Wilson et al. 1995).”
Concurrent Validity of Motor Tests Used to Identify Children with Motor Impairment
Tan, S. K., Parker, H., & Larkin, D. (2001) · Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly · doi:10.1123/apaq.18.2.168 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
The Efficacy of Nonsurgical Interventions for Pediatric Flexible Flat Foot
Mackenzie, A., Rome, K., & Evans, A. (2012) · Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics · doi:10.1097/bpo.0b013e3182648c95 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
The Motor Development of Sighted Children and Children with Moderate Low Vision Aged 8–13
Bouchard, D., & Tétreault, S. (2000) · Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness · doi:10.1177/0145482x0009400903 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Proficiency of Balance in Children and Youth Who Have Had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Wright, M. J., Galea, V., & Barr, R. D. (2005) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.1093/ptj/85.8.782 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Whitford, D., & Esterman, A. (2007) · Foot & Ankle International · doi:10.3113/fai.2007.0715 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Changes in movement characteristics of the spastic upper extremity after botulinum toxin injection
Hurvitz, E. A., Conti, G. E., & Brown, S. H. (2003) · Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1053/apmr.2003.50001 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Kobesová, A., & Kolář, P. (2013) · Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies · doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2013.04.002 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
“, 2007) and BruininkseOseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) (Wilson et al., 1995) can be used to diagnose developmental dyspraxia.”
MethodA Short-Term Graphomotor Program for Improving Writing Readiness Skills of First-Grade Students
Ratzon, N., Efraim, D., & Bart, O. (2007) · American Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.5014/ajot.61.4.399 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Test‐retest reliability of balance tests in children with cerebral palsy
Liao, H., Mao, P., & Hwang, A. (2001) · Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology · doi:10.1017/s0012162201000342 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
The assessment of Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency in children
Düger, T. (1999) · Developmental Neurorehabilitation · doi:10.1080/136384999289531 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Review of Three Tests of Motor Proficiency in Children
Yoon, D. Y., Scott, K., Hill, M. N., et al. (2006) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.102.2.543-551 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Kaufman, L. B., & Schilling, D. L. (2007) · Physical Therapy · doi:10.2522/ptj.20060170 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Motor outcomes in children exposed to early psychosocial deprivation
Levin, A. R., Zeanah, C. H., Fox, N. A., & Nelson, C. A. (2014) · The Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.09.026 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Handwriting Error Patterns of Children with Mild Motor Difficulties
Malloy‐Miller, T., Polatajko, H. J., & Anstett, B. (1995) · Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1177/000841749506200505 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Self-citationPrenatal and childhood exposure to phthalates and motor skills at age 11 years
Balalian, A. A., Whyatt, R. M., Liu, X., Insel, B. J., Rauh, V., Herbstman, J. B., & Factor-Litvak, P. R. (2019) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2019.01.046 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Leemrijse, C., Meijer, O., Vermeer, A., Lambregts, B., & Adèr, H. (1999) · Clinical Rehabilitation · doi:10.1191/026921599675491988 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Bartscherer, M. L., Bartscherer, M. L., & Dole, R. L. (2005) · Physiotherapy Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/09593980500321085 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Test‐retest reliability of balance tests in children with cerebral palsy
Liao, H., Mao, P., & Hwang, A. (2001) · Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2001.tb00184.x · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“However, clinical use of the balance subtest has been discouraged because of its low reliability (Wilson et al. 1995).”
Neil, M. E. O., Fragala-Pinkham, M. A., Westcott, S. L., et al. (2006) · Pediatric Physical Therapy · doi:10.1097/01.pep.0000202099.01653.a9 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
The Relationship Between Postural Control and Fine Manual Dexterity
Rosenblum, S., & Josman, N. (2003) · Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics · doi:10.1080/j006v23n04_04 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Kambas, A., & Aggeloussis, N. (2006) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.102.1.65-75 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Ratzon, N. Z., Greenbaum, C. W., Dulitzky, M., & Ornoy, A. (2000) · Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics · doi:10.1080/j006v20n01_04 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Gwynne, K. G., & Blick, B. (2004) · Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2004.00404.x · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Radanović, D., Đorđević, D., Stanković, M. N., Pekas, D., Bogataj, Š., & Trajković, N. (2021) · Children · doi:10.3390/children8090787 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
“The contrast in the results of slightly older children can be reflected in slower maturation [63].”
ResultChui, M., Ng, A. M. Y., Fong, A., et al. (2007) · Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1016/s1569-1861(07)70002-5 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“Wilson et al. (1994) pointed out that the lack of study of interrater reliability on other subtests posed a major limitation to the use of the BOTMP.”
BackgroundInfluentialStandardised Tests: An Appropriate Way to Measure the Outcome of Paediatric Occupational Therapy?
Payne, S. (2002) · British Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1177/030802260206500303 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“Law (1987, cited in Wilson et al 1995) categorised measurement instruments as being descriptive (useful for diagnosis) and evaluative (useful in quantifying changes in a person over time).”
BackgroundThe Relationship Between Postural Control and Fine Manual Dexterity
Rosenblum, S., & Josman, N. (2003) · Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics · doi:10.1300/j006v23n04_04 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Hidden dysfunction in childhood epilepsy
Beckung, E., & Urebrant, P. (1997) · Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.1997.tb07387.x · Cited by 27 · see citing works
The Relationship Between Fine Motor Skills and Social Development and Maturation
Dehghan, L., Mirzakhani, N., Rezaee, M., & Tabatabaee, M. (2017) · Iranian Rehabilitation Journal · doi:10.29252/nrip.irj.15.4.407 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Perceptual, motor and cognitive performance components of Bedouin children in Israel
Parush, S., Sharoni, C., Hahn‐Markowitz, J., et al. (2000) · Occupational Therapy International · doi:10.1002/oti.124 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Rafique, S. A., & Northway, N. (2015) · Human Movement Science · doi:10.1016/j.humov.2015.04.006 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Motor proficiency and physical activity in preschool girls: a preliminary study
Gallotta, M. C., Baldari, C., & Guidetti, L. (2018) · Early Child Development and Care · doi:10.1080/03004430.2016.1261337 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Early development in Williams syndrome
Tsai, S., Wu, S., Liou, Y., et al. (2008) · Pediatrics International · doi:10.1111/j.1442-200x.2008.02563.x · Cited by 19 · see citing works
A review of assessments used in paediatric occupational therapy
Chu, S., & Hong, C. S. (1997) · British Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation · doi:10.12968/bjtr.1997.4.5.14445 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Developmental correlates of school‐age children with a history of benign congenital hypotonia
Parush, S., Yehezkehel, I., Tenenbaum, A., et al. (1998) · Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.1998.tb15394.x · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Poblano, A., Luna, B., & Reynoso, C. (2014) · Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria · doi:10.1590/0004-282x20140147 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Machová, K., Kejdanová, P., Bajtlerová, I., Procházková, R., Svobodová, I., & Mezian, K. (2018) · Anthrozoös · doi:10.1080/08927936.2018.1505339 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Kambas, A. (2006) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.102.1.65-72 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Parush, S., Winokur, M., Goldstand, S., et al. (2002) · American Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.5014/ajot.56.5.547 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Şahın, S., Akel, B. S., Huri̇, M., & Akyüz, C. (2020) · International Journal of Rehabilitation Research · doi:10.1097/mrr.0000000000000400 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“The test consists of three composites including gross motor skills (total score = 0 min–47 max) [running speed and agility (0 min–15 max), balance (0 min–10 max), bilateral coordination (0 min–6 max) and strength (0 min–16 max)], combined gross and fine motor skills [upper-limb coordination (0 min–6 max)] and fine mot…”
BackgroundBalakrishnan, T. P., & Rao, C. S. (2007) · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Use of an occupational therapy motor performance checklist by a school health service: A pilot study
Gwynne, K. G., Blick, B., & HUGHES, L. (1996) · Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.1996.tb00935.x · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Butler, E. E., Karagas, M. R., Demidenko, E., Bellinger, D. C., & Korrick, S. (2023) · Frontiers in Epidemiology · doi:10.3389/fepid.2023.1139337 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“, the BOT-2 (45, 46, 47), allowed us to explore potential nonlinearities in relation to arsenic concentrations.”
BackgroundYıldız, Ş., Şahın, S., Bulut, N., Yılmaz, Ö., Karaduman, A. A., & Akel, B. S. (2020) · Somatosensory & Motor Research · doi:10.1080/08990220.2020.1784131 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Rafique, S. A., & Northway, N. (2021) · Human Movement Science · doi:10.1016/j.humov.2021.102767 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Firouzjah, M. H., Sheikh, M., Hemayattalab, R., et al. (2019) · Sport Sciences for Health · doi:10.1007/s11332-019-00535-3 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Effects of Obesity on Balance Recovery in Response to Small Postural Perturbations
Miller, E. M. (2008) · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Zhang, J., Zhang, D., & Chen, L. (2004) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.99.3f.1251-1256 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Portnoy, S., Mimouni-Bloch, A., Rosenberg, L., Offek, H., Berman, T., Kochavi, M., Orman, G., & Friedman, J. (2018) · American Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.5014/ajot.2018.027532 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“A tablet (Galaxy Note 10.1 GT-N8010; Samsung, Seoul, South Korea) with an 11.5-cm-long stylus was used to test part of the Fine Manual Control subtest of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (Wilson et al., 1995).”
InfluentialZHANG, J. (2004) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.99.7.1251-1256 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
LAZARO, R. T., Roller, M. L., & Umphred, D. A. (2013) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-07586-2.00017-0 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Dhote, S., RATHI, D. M., & Palekar, D. T. J. (2017) · International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences · doi:10.22376/ijpbs.2017.8.3.b222-229 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Strength Performance in School Going Children Using BruininksOseretsky Test-2
Rathi, M. (2021) · Annals of Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy · doi:10.23880/aphot-16000197 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Fine motor skill performance in Irish children
Gaul, D. (2014) · Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology)
Essebaggers, R. J., Martin, W. M., & Smies, G. E. (1999) · ScholarWorks - GVSU (Grand Valley State University)
Brenner, J. (2009) · University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Institutional Repository on DSpace (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg)
Born too soon or too small:Motor problems in adolescence
Evensen, K. A. I. (2010) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)
Sensorisch-integrative Befunderhebung
Bundy, A. C. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-33064-6_7
(2023) · Discobolul · doi:10.35189/dpeskj.2023.62.4.4
“The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test proves its usefulness in investigating motor proficiency for both descriptive and evaluative purposes (Wilson et al., 1995).”
BackgroundYıldırım, K., Tanrıverdi, M., Yılmaz, G. G., Davutoğlu, C., Şahin, S., & Çakır, F. B. (2025) · Rehabilitation Oncology · doi:10.1097/01.reo.0000000000000406
- Authors
- Wilson, B. N., Polatajko, H. J., Kaplan, B. J., & Faris, P.
- Affiliations
- Alberta Children's Hospital (CA)
- Western University (CA)
- University of Calgary (CA)
- Venue
- American Journal of Occupational Therapy
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1995-01
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 8-17
- ISSN
- 0272-9490 (ISSN-L)
- 1943-7676
- OpenAlex
- W2047323038
- Cited by
- 62
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Occupational Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Children's Physical and Motor Development
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Therapy Practice and Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders
- Keywords
- Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, motor function assessment, subtest selection, change over time, diagnostic validity, occupational therapy assessment
- MeSH terms
- Analysis of Variance, Child, Developmental Disabilities, Child, Preschool, Disability Evaluation, Humans, Learning Disabilities, Motor Skills, Occupational Therapy, Psychomotor Disorders
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
