Motor Coordination Assessment Battery in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (BACMA)

Abstract

The Bateria de Avaliação da Coordenação Motora em Crianças com Transtorno do Espectro Autismo (BACMA), developed by Monteiro et al. in 2023, is a specialized and comprehensive battery of tests engineered to assess motor coordination specifically in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The scale’s construction is grounded in fundamental motor skills critical for daily living activities, aligning with established principles in motor development literature, particularly those emphasizing the standardization of core movements such as manipulation, locomotion, and balance, as outlined by Gallahue & Ozmun (2013).

The need for BACMA was identified by the Paralympic Sports Working and Research Group (GTP) to provide a tailored assessment tool, recognizing limitations in existing, more generalized batteries like the Körperkooordinations Test für Kinder (KTK), the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test (TBO), and the Broad Motor Development Test-Second Edition (TGMD-2). The finalized BACMA instrument evaluates four primary motor skill domains: locomotion, manipulation, balance, and jumping. The validation process involved rigorous data collection by trained Health and Education professionals in Brazil who possessed extensive experience (over two years) working with children affected by ASD, ensuring the battery’s reported validity and reliability are robust.

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Motor Coordination, Motor Skills, Locomotion, Manipulation, Balance, Psychomotor Performance, Test Battery, Children

Authors

Monteiro, Carlos Eduardo Lima, di Masi, Fabrizio, de Souza, Divaldo Martins, dos Santos, Darlan Tavares, de Sousa, Moisés Simão Santa Rosa, Dantas, Estélio Henrique Martin

Purpose

The primary purpose of the BACMA is to provide a reliable and valid motor coordination assessment battery specifically tailored for evaluating motor abilities in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Construct

The BACMA measures the construct of Motor Coordination, defined through the execution of fundamental motor skills essential for adaptive and daily functioning. The battery operationalizes this construct across four distinct domains: Locomotion (movement), Manipulation (object control), Balance (postural stability), and Jumping (propulsion). This multi-faceted approach ensures a comprehensive evaluation of the core psychomotor performance components that are often impaired or atypical in individuals with ASD.

Validity

The scale developers reported strong evidence for the measure’s validity during its construction in 2023.

• Content Validity: The BACMA achieved a reported Content Validity of 0.99, indicating a very high level of agreement among experts that the items adequately represent the intended domains of motor coordination relevant to children with ASD.

Reliability

The reliability analysis confirms the strong internal consistency of the BACMA scale.

• Test Reliability (Internal Consistency): The instrument demonstrated exceptional internal consistency, evidenced by a high Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.99. This value suggests that the items within the battery are highly correlated and measure the same underlying construct of motor coordination.

Factor Analysis

No data is Available regarding the results of an exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis for the BACMA instrument in the provided source material.

Instrument

Test Type: Original

Format: Battery

Language Available: Portuguese

Population Group: Human; Male; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older) – Note: This refers to the population used for validation, not the target population (children with ASD).

Population Details: The validation study participants were trained Health and Education Professionals with extensive experience (more than two years) working directly with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data collection for the validation occurred in Brazil.

Test Methodology: The methodology employed in the development and validation of BACMA included Test Validity, Content Validity, Test Reliability, and Internal Consistency analysis.

Keywords

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Balance, Jumps, Locomotion, Manipulation, Motor Coordination, Motor Skills, Psychomotor Performance, Test Battery

Authors

The correspondence information for the lead author, Carlos Eduardo Lima Monteiro, is detailed below:

Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro – UNIRIO, Programa de Doutorado em Enfermagem e Biociências – PPgEnfBio, Avenida Pasteur, Bairro Urca. Caixa Postal 296, Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil, CEP: 22290-250, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author (Monteiro, Carlos Eduardo Lima: [email protected])

• Commercial: No

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Monteiro, C. E. L., di Masi, F., de Souza, D. M., dos Santos, D. T., de Sousa, M. S. S. R., & Dantas, E. H. M. (2023). Criação e determinação da validade de uma bateria de teste para coordenação motora em crianças com autismo [Creation and determination of the validity of a test battery for motor coordination in children with autism]. Motricidade, 19(3).

Gallahue, D. L., & Ozmun, J. C. (2013). Understanding Motor Development: Infants, Children, Adolescents, Adults. McGraw-Hill.

Gorla, J. I., et al. (2014). Körperkooordinations Test für Kinder (KTK).

Moreira, M. S., et al. (2008). Bruininks-Oseretsky Test (TBO).

Melo, G. F., et al. (2018). Broad Motor Development Test-Second Edition (TGMD-2).

Items of the Bateria de Avaliação da Coordenação Motora em Crianças com Transtorno do Espectro Autismo (BACMA)

The BACMA battery consists of four distinct tests. These tests are specifically designed to assess fundamental motor skills, including locomotion, manipulation, balance, and jumping. The individual items within each of these four tests are not explicitly detailed in the provided text.