Applicability of digital platform for evaluation of fine motor skills in young children

Abstract

Fine motor control is important for object manipulation in daily living. Children with developmental delay, cerebral palsy or congenital upper limb abnormalities may have fine motor deficits. In recent years, digital platform for cognitive and motor assessment has been introduced to the field of health and education to optimize development in early childhood. In this study, content validity and construct validity of a new instrument named iDevChild (a tablet application) were evaluated. The iDevChild is a prototype of fine motor test in digital platform. Four occupational therapists were recruited to review the content validity of the test items of iDevChild. Twenty-five typically developing children were recruited from three kindergartens to receive two clinical fine motor tests and two subtests of iDevChild. All of the children were able to complete these tests successfully. Moderate and significant correlations were found between the scores of the tests. Further study on other subtests (e.g. bilateral coordination) and the reliability of the tool with larger sample size is recommended.