Movement Assessment Battery for Children

This article or area is currently under construction and may only be partially complete. Please come back soon to see the finished work! (20/11/2023)
Original Editor - User Name
Top Contributors - Romy Hageman and Carina Therese Magtibay

Purpose[edit | edit source]

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) consists of a checklist and a motor test, both aimed at gauging a child's motor skills in everyday activities. This assessment measures three key motor skill aspects: manual dexterity, ball skills, and balance[1].

  • Target audience: Children (aged 3-17 years old) with potential motor skill deviations.
  • Purpose: The MABC-2 assists in identifying deficits in motor development at an early stage, determining the motor skill level, and planning targeted therapeutic interventions.

Technique[edit | edit source]

There are three age groups (3;0 to 6;11 years, 7;0 to 10;11 years, and 11;0 to 16;11 years). For each age group, a seperate test battery is available, with the level of difficulty increasing based on age:

  • Subtest age group 1 (3;0 to 6;11 years):
    • Manual dexterity 1: Coin insertion: The task is to pick up 6 or 12 plastic coins from the table and insert them through a narrow slot into a plastic box.
    • Manual dexterity 2: Bead threading: The task involves threading 6 or 12 plastic beads onto a string.
    • Manual dexterity 3: Tracing path: The task is to trace the route between two lines without exceeding the boundaries.
    • Ball skills 1: Catching a beanbag: The child is tasked with catching a beanbag.
    • Ball skills 2: Tossing beanbags: The task is to throw the beanbag on the mat.
    • Balance skills 1: Single-leg balance: The task is to maintain balance on one leg.
    • Balance skills 2: Toe-walking: The child must walk along a line without letting the raised heel touch the ground.
    • Balance skills 3: Jumping on mats: The child must jump from a standing position with legs together from mat to mat.
  • Subtest age group 2: (7;0 to 10;11 years):
    • Manual dexterity 1: Placing pegs: The task is to insert small plastic pegs as quickly as possible into a board.
    • Manual dexterity 2: Threading a string: The task is to pull a string through the holes of a plastic board.
    • Manual dexterity 3: Tracing path: The task is to trace the route between two lines without exceeding the boundaries.
    • Ball Skills 1: Catching: The child must throw a tennis ball against the wall and catch it with both hands.
    • Ball skills 2: Throwing: The child must aim the beanbag into the red circle on a mat.
    • Balance skills 1: Single-board balance: The child must balance on one foot on the balance board.
    • Balance skills 2: Heel to toe: The child must walk along the line while the heel of one foot touches the toes of the other foot.
    • Balance skills 3: Hopscotch: The child must jump forward on one leg from mat to mat starting from a standing position.
  • Subtest age group 3 (11;0 to 16;11 years):
    • Manual dexterity 1: Turning plugs: The task is to flip small two-colored plastic plugs so that the other colors faces upward.
    • Manual dexterity 2: Building a triangle: The task is to assemble three plastics together with nuts and bolts to create a triangle.
    • Manual decterity 3: Tracing path: The task is to trace the route between two lines without exceeding the boundaries.
    • Ball skills 1: Catching: The child must throw a tennis ball against the wall and then catch it with one hand.
    • Ball skills 2: Throwing: The task is to throw the tennis ball into a red circle on the wall.
    • Balance skills 1: Two-board balance: The child must balance on the balance board, ensuring that the heel of one foot and the toes of the other foot touch.
    • Balance skills 2: Walking backwards heel to toe: The child must walk backwards along a line, making sure that the toes of one foot touch the heel of the other.
    • Balance skills 3: Zigzag hopping: The task is to jump diagonally from one mat to another on one leg.

Scoring[edit | edit source]

Scores are drived using specific forms, and the cumulative scores from each aspect contribute to an overall score. The norms are provided for the three age groups.


Evidence[edit | edit source]

The MABC has been shown to have evidence of concurrent validity with other pediatric motor assessments[2] [3]and is extensively utilized internationally[4][5][6][7][8][9]. Norms have been assessed through studies conducted in diverse cultural settings, including Japan[10], Hong Kong[11] , Netherlands [3], Singapore[12]and Sweden[13].

The MABC can identify children with motor impairment issues better than the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP)[14].

The MABC has been used in studies involving a range of different developmental conditions, such as:

  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)[15][16][17].
  • Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD)[18][19].
  • Language impairment[20]

Resources[edit | edit source]

add any relevant resources here

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Henderson, S. E., Sugden, D. A., & Barnett, A. L. (2007). Movement assessment battery for children-2 second edition [Movement ABC-2]. London, UK: The Psychological Corporation.
  2. ↑ Missiuna, C., Rivard, L., & Bartlett, D. (2006). Exploring assessment tools and the target intervention for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 26(1/2), 71–89.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Smits-Engelsman, B. C. M., Henderson, S. E., & Michels, C. G. J. (1998). The assessment of children with developmental coordination disorders in the Netherlands: The relationship between the movement assessment battery for children and the Korperkoordinations Test fur Kinder. Human Movement Science, 17, 699– 709
  4. ↑ Chow, S. M. K., & Henderson, S. E. (2003). Brief report—Interrater and test-retest reliability of the movement assessment battery for Chinese preschool children. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 57(5), 574–577.
  5. ↑ Chow, S., Hsu, Y., Henderson, S., Barnett, A., & Lo, S. (2006). The Movement ABC: A cross-cultural comparison of preschool children from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the USA. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 23(3), 31–48.
  6. ↑ Croce, R. V., Horvat, M., & McCarthy, E. (2001). Reliability and concurrent validity of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, 275–280.
  7. ↑ Geuze, R. H., Jongmans, M. J., Schoemaker, M. M., & Smits-Engelsman, B. C. M. (2001). Clinical and research diagnostic criteria for developmental coordination disorder: A review and discussion. Human Movement Science, 20, 7– 47.
  8. ↑ Tan, S. W., Parker, H. E., & Larkin, D. (2001). Concurrent validity of motor tests used to identify children with motor impairment. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 18, 168–182.
  9. ↑ Wiart, L., & Darrah, J. (2001). Review of four tests of gross motor development. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 43, 279–285.
  10. ↑ Miyahara, M., Tsuji, M., Hanai, T., Jongmans, M., Barnett, A. L., Henderson, S. E., et al. (1998). The movement assessment battery for children: A preliminary investigation of its usefulness in Japan. Human Movement Science, 17, 679–697.
  11. ↑ Chow, S. M. K., Henderson, S. E., & Barnett, A. L. (2001). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children: A comparison of 4-year-old to 6-year-old children from Hong Kong and the United States. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 55, 55–61.
  12. ↑ Wright, H. C., Sugden, D. A., Ng, R., & Tan, J. (1994). Identification of children with movement problems in Singapore: Usefulness of the movement ABC checklist. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 11, 150–157.
  13. ↑ Rosblad, B. & Gard, L. (1998). The assessment of children with developmental coordination disorders in Sweden: A preliminary investigation of the suitability of the movement ABC. Human Movement Science, 17, 711–719.
  14. ↑ Dewey, D., & Wilson, B. N. (2001). Developmental coordination disorder: What is it? Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 20, 5–27.
  15. ↑ Harvey, W. J., & Reid, G. (2003). A review of fundamental movement skill performance and physical fitness of children with ADHD. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 20, 1–25.
  16. ↑ Miyahara, M., Piek, J., & Barrett, N. (2006). Accuracy of drawing in a dual-task and resistance-to-distraction study: motor or attention deficit. Human Movement Science, 25, 100–109.
  17. ↑ Piek, J. M., Pitcher, T. M., & Hay, D. A. (1999). Motor coordination and kinaesthesis in boys with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 41, 159–165.
  18. ↑ Green, D., Baird, G., Barnett, A. L., Henderson, L., Huber, J., & Henderson, S. E. (2002). The severity and nature of motor impairment in Asperger’s Syndrome: A comparison with specific developmental disorder of motor function. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(4), 655–688.
  19. ↑ Smith, I. M. (2004). Motor problems in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. In D. Dewey & D. E. Tupper (Eds. ), Developmental Motor Disorders: A neuropsychological perspective (pp. 152–169). New York: The Guildford Press.
  20. ↑ Hill, E. L. (2001). Non-specific nature of specific language impairment: A review of the literature with regard to concomitant motor impairments. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 36, 149–171.
Retrieved from "https://www.physio-pedia.com/index.php?title=Movement_Assessment_Battery_for_Children&oldid=345305"