The use of the Movement Assessment Battery for
Children (MABC) in Brazil: a literature review
C. L. Pinheiro1, A. P. Silva2 A. A. Cardoso 3 & L. C. Magalhães 3
Occupational Therapy Course, Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro – IFRJ, 2 Occupational Theraphy Student, Federal
Institute of Rio de Janeiro – IFRJ, 3 Departament of Occupational Therapy, Federal University of Minas Gerais – UFMG.
1
DISCUSSION
INTRODUCTION
It is estimatedthat 5% to 10% of the child population in schoolage, without
sensorial or neurological identified déficits, face motor difficulties than expected to
develop typical activities to their age group and cognitive level1-4. These children
exhibit signs compatibles with the crieteria for the Developmental Coordination
Disorder (DCD) diagnosis.

The growing number of studies published in the last four years indicates
greater interest of different professionals to identify and measure mild and
moderate motor difficulties in Brazilian children. This might be associated to
increased awareness about Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD)
and its consequences on the children´s development and daily life4,10,11.
The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) and the second
edition (MABC-2)5, have been used worldwide to help diagnose DCD. The MABC
and MABC-2 are applied to detect mild to moderate motor difficulties in children 316 years old. These assessments tools have been used in Brazilian children since
2006, and it is verified the crescent interest in use of them in our population in the
last years, once the lack a valid and reliable assessment tool could be explain the
low number of children diagnosed with DCD in Brazil6-8.

Most production by physical educators may be associated to the fact that the
original authors of MABC are physical educators5. Also children with DCD
usually do not have adequate performance in physical education classes and
avoid sports and activities that require fine motor coordination12,13. The interest
of occupational therapists may be related to the need to investigate children
with motor difficulties because of the limitations faced by them in daily activities
at home and at school14.
AIM

The fact that most studies were focused on MABC-2 age band two is
consistent with the age in which the school tasks become more demanding
making the repercussions of the motor impairment more evident7,8,15.

The motor test´s utility, confirmed in studies, encourages investment in its
validation for the Brazilian children.

The fact that no adjustment was appointed in studies for the use of motor
performance test, both MABC as the MABC-2, appears to be associated with
the fact that it contains common tasks the child's environment, without the
need to adapt instrument items to our population5,16.

Although there are two recent studies on the validity of the motor test and the
checklist for children from the southern of Brazil, with results suggesting that
while the MABC-2 Checklist may need minor modification9, the motor test and
its original normative data could be used with these children, further validity
studies are needed, as Brazil is a continental country17.
To analyze and synthesize research studies regarding the use of the
Movement Assessment Battery for Children, first and second editions, to
assess the motor performance of Brazilian children.
METHOD
Literature review based on search in electronic databases – MedLine, Lilacs
(Brazilian) and Scielo (South America) – between october and december 2014,
using a search terms in portuguese: MABC, MABC-2, developmental coordination
disorder, ABC movement test, alone or in combination, according to the following
criteria:
(a) research articles published in Portuguese, English or Spanish;
(b) observational and experimental studies;
(c) papers reporting data on the use of the MABC or MABC-2 with Brazilian
children.
CONCLUSIONS
RESULTS
 From the 360 articles located in the searches, following exclusions, 23 were
selected for the review.
Year
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
N
5
3
5
5
0
1
1
1
2
The MABC, both editions, can be considered a versatile tool as it has few items
constituting a motor assessment relatively quick, and can be used by several
professional categories. No studies have indicated the need for changes in
motor performance test, however, about the use of checklist that aspect still
needs further research.
 Most of them were published in the last four years (N=18/78%), including two
studies on the validity of the MABC-2 for the Brazilian children.
It is important to continue investing in researches to contribute to the establishment
of the validity of the instrument to Brazilian children, especially in its latest edition,
seeking to enlarger the sample, so that it is representative of all regions of the
country.
 The studies were developed by different professionals, including physical
educators, occupational therapists, physical therapists, physicians,
psychologists, nutritionists. Most studies have been published by physical
educators (N=14/61%) and occupational therapists (N=5/22%).
Also it is interesting that studies be undertaken to compare the motor performance
of Brazilian children in MABC-2 with the British normative sample are conducted.
This type of analysis is important to check adequacy of cutting points and identify
differences in performance on individual items.
Assessment Tool
Number of Studies
Sample
MABC
11
2586
Motor Test
10
2054
Checklist
1
532
MABC-2
12
3701
Motor test
11
3611
Checklist
2
120
 The studies report data on 6.287 Brazilian children, 5.665 for the motor test,
considering both versions, and 652 for the checklist.
 The studies included children from 3 to 13 years old.
Age Group (years)
3 to 6
7 to 10
11 to 13
Number of Studies (%)
4 (17%)
18 (78%)
4 (17%)
 Most publications aimed to children 7 to 10 years old and their results
indicate the MABC and MABC-2 are useful to identify mild motor difficulties
among Brazilian children.
 No study point to the need to adapt the motor test, however, the checklist
seems to need some adjustments to be used in Brazil, which was appointed
by two studies7,9. The adjustments suggested were related to adaptation of
items to Brazilian school reality.
REFERENCES
1. Araújo, C. R. S., Magalhães, L. C., & Cardoso, A. A. (2011). Uso da Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational
Performance (CO-OP) com crianças com transtorno do desenvolvimento da coordenação. Revista de Terapia
Ocupacional da Universidade de São Paulo. 22(3): 245-253.
2. Darsaklis, V. et al. (2013). Assessments used to diagnose Developmental Coordination Disorder: do their
underlying constructs match the diagnostic criteria? Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics. 33(2): 186-198.
3. Venetsanou, F. et al. (2011). Can the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – test be the “gold standard” for
the motor assessment of children with Developmental Coordination Disorder? Research in Developmental
Disabilities, 32, 1-10.
4. Zwicker, J. G. et al. (2012). Developmental coordination disorder: a review and update. European Journal of
Paediatric Neurology, 16, 573-581.
5. Henderson, S. E., Sugden, D. A., & Barnett, A. L. (2007). Movement Assessment Battery for Children – 2.
Examiner’s manual (2nd ed., pp194-). London: Pearson.
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Destreza Motora – ACOORDEM para crianças de 7 e 8 anos de idade. Revista Brasileira de Fisioterapia. 16(1): 1622. 2012.
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356–361.
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e sem transtorno do desenvolvimento da coordenação. Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria e Desempenho
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Battery for Children. Motriz.19(2): 423-431.
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and young adult perspectives. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 32: 1351-1360.
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com 7 a 10 anos de idade. Revista Brasileira de Cienantropometria e desempenho Humano. 15(2): 233-242.
13 Valentini, N. C. et al. (2012) Prevalência de déficits motores e desordem coordenativa desenvolvimental em
crianças da região sul do Brasil. Revista Paulista de Pediatria. 30(3): 377-384.
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Coordenação em crianças de três a seis anos e possibilidades de atuação da Terapia Ocupacional. Revista de
Terapia Ocupacional da Universidade de São Paulo. 21(1): 74-82.
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Ciência e Desporto. 7(1): 36-47.
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