If there are concerns regarding your child’s motor development, they will benefit from an assessment of their motor skills. Concerns about motor skills can be raised by the child’s parents, treating medical specialist, GP, psychologist or carer. From this, we will discuss the assessment findings, and develop a plan to help and assist the development of motor skills.

Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT™-2)
The BOT-2 is the most widely used motor proficiency test and most comprehensive measure of gross and fine motor skills for children, teenagers and young adults 4-21 years of age. Occupational Therapists and other professionals use the BOT-2 to help:

• Assess the motor proficiency of all children, ranging from those who are typically developing to those with mild to moderate motor control problems

• Support the diagnosis of motor impairments
  

• Screen individuals who may have certain deficits in motor ability and who might benefit from further evaluation or interventions
  

• Develop and evaluate motor training programs
  
  

Using the BOT-2 we are able to assess specific areas of motor development including:

• Fine Motor Precision
  

• Fine Motor Integration
  

• Manual Dexterity
  

• Bilateral Coordination
  

• Balance
  

• Running Speed and Agility
  

• Upper-Limb Coordination)
  

• Strength

The parents of children who undergoing assessment are advised to provide any previous assessment reports the child may have had. It is also important to advise the clinician of the reasons for seeking an assessment (i.e. suspected developmental problems), so that the assessment and the comprehensive report can be tailored to the individual needs.

A time will then be set to administer the test, which takes on average 60 minutes in duration. Depending on specific needs the assessment may take longer or may have to be conducted over 2 sessions in event of fatigue or concentration barriers. The assessment itself is generally enjoyable, especially for children who like the variety and appeal of the test items. After the assessment, a comprehensive written report is provided outlining findings and recommendations based on the assessment.

Self-referrals to the clinic may be done by contacting the clinic. Alternatively, referrals obtained from practitioners may attract Medicare rebates. The OT Assessment Clinic is in the process of undergoing registration with NDIS, which will become available in the near future.