Relationship between the fine motor test for the school-aged and the movement assessment battery for children-second edition in Chinese children with suspected developmental coordination disorder

Abstract

Aims: To examine the correlation between a newly developed Fine Motor Test for the School-aged (FMTS) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (MABC-2), and to explore the FMTS’s ability to identify children with suspected developmental coordination disorder (DCD) compared to the MABC-2. Methods: Fifty-one children aged 7–14 years in Hong Kong participated. Each child was assessed with both the MABC-2 and FMTS, and their parents completed the revised Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ-R). Suspected DCD was identified using the 15th percentile for the MABC-2 and the 5th percentile for the FMTS using DCDQ-R cutoffs. Spearman’s rho correlation analyses were performed. Results: Moderate-to-strong correlations (rho =.41–.70, p =.011 to p <.001) between the FMTS and MABC-2, except for the aiming and catching subtest, among children aged 7–10 years. The FMTS identified 20 children with suspected DCD, of whom 18 scored below DCDQ-R cutoffs, while the MABC-2 identified seven children with suspected DCD. Conclusions: The FMTS demonstrates convergent validity and shows potential for aiding in the identification of DCD specifically related to fine motor difficulties in Hong Kong children. As the FMTS focuses solely on fine motor skills, combining it with gross motor assessments in clinical use is recommended.