Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2)
Update:
Source: Pearson P.O. Box 599700 San Antonio, TX 78259
Manual Scoring:
BOT-2 Complete Form Test Kit: $898.00
Reference: http://www.pearsonclinical.com/therapy/products/100000648/bruininks-oseretsky-test-of-motor-proficiency-second-edition-bot-2.html#tab-pricing. Accessed February 27, 2017.
Lin et al. researched the effects of touchscreen use on fine motor development in preschoolers. 80 children (N=80; boys: 52; mean age 61.0 ± 7.6 months) without developmental delay were split into two groups of 40 based on prior usage of touch screen tablets. The children who used a touchscreen for more than 10 minutes a day for a month were placed in the test group, and the others were in the non touch screen group. Researchers utilized the BOT-2 to examine each child’s fine motor performance before and after the study, and they also assessed pinch strength using a hand held pinch dynamometer before and after the study. Both groups participated in 20 minutes of training activities per day for 24 consecutive weeks. The test group completed their activities on an iPad for 20 minutes while the non touch screen group completed age appropriate activities (play dough, using scissors, drawing, etc.) for 20 minutes. After completing the training and the BOT-2 again, results showed that the non-touch screen group had significantly higher scores in fine motor precision, fine motor integration, and manual dexterity. There were n significant differences in pinch strength. A strength of this article is that they were able to get 80 children to participate in the study and they also did not have any children drop out. They also used two very reliable measures, the hand held dynamometry for pinch grip and the BOT-2. A limitation of this study is that they did not examine other factors that could affect the use of touch screens on fine motor development such as cognitive and visual skills. Although the y were able to complete this study on 80 children, they were not a good representation of all socioeconomic classes so the results may not be able to be applied to the general population. This research shows us the importance of not relying too much on the new technology of today because sometimes, as it is in this case, it is best for kids to play with crafts, even if its just for 20 minutes. This can also help to improve a child’s creativity and social skills.
Lin L-Y, Cherng R-J, Chen Y-J. Effect of Touch Screen Tablet Use on Fine Motor Development of Young Children. Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics. 2017;0(0):1-11. doi:10.1080/01942638.2016.1255290.
2 responses to “Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2)”
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I think it is interesting/sad how so many parents nowadays are so quick to letting their kids sit in front of the TV or on the iPad for hours on end to keep them entertained instead of encouraging them to use their imagination. I think if more parents saw articles like this one, maybe they would be quicker to give them other activities to do besides looking at a screen.
This is a very interesting article that relates to my prior experiences of working at a children’s activity camp. At this camp, numerous kids would come daily and refuse to participate in the crafts and sports activities due to being preoccupied with playing games on their iPads for well over 20 minutes at a time. It is sad to think of how our technological advanced society can have a negative impact on children’s fine motor skills and dexterity, and this article is a great reminder to have children play with other sources of age appropriate activities that stimulate fine motor skills and imagination. Based on my research, I saw that the BOT-2 also looks at balance during motor skills, so it would be interesting to me to see if the iPad group also demonstrated deficits with balance in addition to the fine motor skills compared to the non-touch screen group.