Overview
The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency – Second Edition (BOT-2; Bruininks & Bruininks, 2005) is a test of fine and gross motor proficiency for children 4 years to 21 years, 11 months old. It consists of eight subtests, four in the gross-motor area (Bilateral Coordination, Balance, Running Speed, and Agility, Strength) and four in the fine-motor area (Fine-Motor Precision, Fine-Motor Integration, Manual Dexterity, and Upper-Extremity Coordination). Eight composite scores are available, including total scores in Total Motor, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, as well as in Fine Manual Control, Manual Coordination, Body Coordination, Strength/Agility, and Fine Motor Coordination. Administering the entire test requires 45 to 60 minutes; however, the short form can be administered in 15 to 20 minutes, which can be administered in 10 to 15 minutes. The Fine Motor Form and the Gross Motor Form can each be administered in 25- 30 minutes.
Therapists are cautioned about using the BOT-2 to determine skill level in specific areas of motor skills, because the Total Motor Composite standard score and the Short Form standard score have been shown to be most stable compared to specific task scores. Therapists should also note that children with disabilities were included in the normative sample of this second version; therefore, putting undue emphasis on an observed score may result in some children being overlooked who are in need of services (Dietz, Kartin, & Kopp, 2007). Gender specific norms are available. Scoring can be completed manually or using the Q-global system.
Summary
Age: 4 years 0 months to 21 years 11 months
Time to Administer: Complete form: 45–60 minutes. Gross Motor Form or Fine Motor Form: each : 25-30 minutes. Short Form: 10-15 minutes.
Method of Administration: Norm-referenced, clinician administered; performance items, including fine-motor tasks, such as copying and tracing, and gross-motor tasks, such as sit-ups and running speed
Yields T scores (M = 50, SD = 10) for composites and scaled scores (M = 10, SD = 3) for subtest scores, percentile ranks, confidence intervals, descriptive ranges, age equivalents
Subscales: Overall Composite Scores: Total Motor, Gross Motor, Fine Motor
Composite Scores: Fine-Manual Control, Manual Coordination, Body Coordination, Strength and Agility
Subtest Scores: Fine Motor Precision, Fine Motor Integration, Manual Dexterity, Bilateral Coordination, Balance, Running Speed and Agility, Upper-Extremity Coordination, Strength
Autism Related Research
Though it has not been validated for use with persons who have ASD, the test developers did demonstrate its validity and reliability in an evaluation of children with development coordination disorders, mild intellectual disabilities, and high-functioning autism or Asperger disorder (Bruininks & Bruininks, 2005). In addition, the BOT-2 has been used in multiple studies focused on understanding motor skills in this population (e.g., Bertilsson et al., 2018; Jeoung, 2018; Kaur, Srinivasan, & Bhat, 2018; Pan, 2014; Pan et al., 2017). Though validating the use of the BOT-2 in autism was not the primary focus of the Jeoung (2018) study, this author concluded that performance on this instrument seemed to be more related to IQ than to the type of disability a person had (i.e., intellectual disability, developmental disability, or autism), but cognitive functioning was not evaluated in this study.