Development and Psychometric Properties of the BOT-3 Movement Fundamentals Score

Area of Science:

• Motor Development
• Psychometrics
• Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

• Fundamental movement skills are crucial for childhood development and participation.
• Accurate assessment tools are needed to identify motor impairments early.
• The BOT-3 Movement Fundamentals Score (BOT-3-MFS) was developed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and psychometric properties of the BOT-3-MFS.
• To evaluate its reliability and validity in a diverse age range.
• To assess its utility in differentiating clinical populations with motor impairments.

Main Methods:

• Administered the BOT-3-MFS to a nationally representative sample (n=1,360, ages 4:0-24:11).
• Analyzed scores for developmental patterns, internal consistency, and test-retest stability.
• Compared BOT-3-MFS scores in clinical groups (developmental delay, developmental coordination disorder, autism spectrum disorder) against matched controls.

Main Results:

• The BOT-3-MFS showed expected developmental progression in the normative sample.
• Internal consistency reliability ranged from .74-.84 (normative) and .82-.91 (clinical).
• Test-retest stability was .84, and all clinical groups scored significantly lower than controls (p < .001).

Conclusions:

• The BOT-3-MFS is a theoretically sound and research-based measure of fundamental movement skills.
• It exhibits expected developmental patterns, reliable psychometric properties, and validity in differentiating motor impairments.
• The BOT-3-MFS is suitable for use in both research and clinical settings to assess fundamental motor skills.