Use of the Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency in occupational therapy.

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.