Assessing Fine Motor Coordination in Children Using a Tablet Device in Comparison with Paper and Pencil Testing

The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of typical 5-year-old children in two different measures; Prosense, a computer tablet program, (Sensory Metrics, 2014) that requires finger tracing designs under different conditions with a paper and pencil test of motor coordination, The Beery- Buktenica Development Test of Visual- Motor Integration [VMI] (Beery, Buktenica, & Beery, 2010). Correlation analysis was performed between the two measures to determine concurrent validity. This study found that the Prosense has the potential to be utilized as a screening tool for difficulties in visual motor integration as demonstrated by statically significant correlations between several Prosense items and VMI items which incorporate vertical lines. Due to the factors of inconsistencies of the touch screen's sensitivity as well as the potential lack of translation between using one's finger to perform visual motor integration tasks and use of a writing tool, future research implications should be considered.