Box and Block Test

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Objective

The Box and Block Test is an objective measure of assessing unilateral gross manual dexterity

Intended Population

Those with a range of neurological diagnoses including:

• Stroke
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Neuromuscular Disorders
• Geriatric
• Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
• Fibromyalgia

Method of Use

Equipment Required:

• Stopwatch
• Wooden box dimensioned in 53.7 cm x 25.4 cm x 8.5 cm
• Partition (should be placed at the middle of the box, dividing it in two containers of 25.4 cm each)
• 150 wooden cubes (2.5 cm in size)

Set-Up:

• A test box with 150 blocks and a partition in the middle is placed lengthwise along the edge of a standard-height table
• The patient should be seated on a standard height chair facing the box 150 blocks should be in the compartment of the test box on the side of the patient’s dominant hand
• The examiner should face the patient so she or he could view the blocks being transported

Description:

The patient is allowed a 15-second trial period prior to testing

• Individuals are seated at a table, facing a rectangular box that is divided into two square compartments of equal dimension by means of a partition.
• One hundred and fifty, 2.5 cm, colored, wooden cubes or blocks are placed in one compartment or the other.
• The individual is instructed to move as many blocks as possible, one at a time, from one compartment to the other for a period of 60 seconds.
• Standardized dimensions for the test materials and procedures for test administration and scoring have been provided by Mathiowetz et al, 1985.
• To administer the test, the examiner is seated opposite the individual in order to observe test performance.
• The BBT is scored by counting the number of blocks carried over the partition from one compartment to the other during the one-minute trial period.
• Patient’s hand must cross over the partition in order for a point to be given, and blocks that drop or bounce out of the second compartment onto the floor are still rewarded with a point.
• Multiple blocks carried over at the same time count as a single point.
• Higher scores on the test indicate better gross manual dexterity

References

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