Motor performance checklist for 5-year-olds: a tool for identifying children at risk of developmental co-ordination disorder

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to further evaluate the 'Motor Performance Checklist for 5-year-olds', an instrument which had been piloted with some success and reported via this journal in 1996. METHOD: Both validity and reliability in identifying children in most need of paediatric occupational therapy services was assessed. The Motor Performance Checklist was compared against a chosen 'gold standard' test, The Bruininks-Oseretsky test of Motor Proficiency, in a group of 141 5-year-old children. RESULTS: Correlations of 0.72 and 0.85 were found between the tests. The checklist was found to have a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 98%. Positive predictive validity was found to be 72% and negative predictive validity 99%. Interrater reliability ranged between 0.79 and 0.99 and intrarater reliability was 0.77. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the Motor Performance Checklist has the potential to assist in identifying children in most need of referral to community occupational therapy services.