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OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY · ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS

BOT-3 Assessment

A BOT-3 assessment is an Occupational Therapist’s assessment of a child or young person’s motor skills using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. This assessment is a comprehensive measure of gross and fine motor skills across eight core subtests, from fine motor precision and manual dexterity through bilateral coordination and balance to strength and dynamic movement, with an age range of 4 to 25.

The result is a motor proficiency profile with standardised scores for each area, with the third edition adding Growth Scale Values, a new score type used across repeat assessments. Our Occupational Therapists use it as one of three sources in a paediatric motor skills assessment, alongside their own observation and a conversation with parents.

An occupational therapist guides her paediatric client, who is on the NDIS, through the process of marble transfer, a task designed to improve fine motor skills. This only one representation of Occupational Therapy, a broad disciplines that helps people with everyday tasks and development designed for life improvement.

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Our Occupational Therapists run Bruininks-Oseretsky motor proficiency assessments with children and young people across our clinics in New South Wales and Tasmania. The Bruininks-Oseretsky test is one of the standardised assessments our Occupational Therapy team trains on internally, alongside the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales and the PEDI-CAT, and it is booked as its own service line.

How do I fund a BOT-3 assessment?

NDIS funding is the usual route for a BOT-3 assessment.

NDIS: as Occupational Therapy supports, the assessment and report usually come out of the Capacity Building part of a plan; our intake team confirms the category.

Self-managed, plan-managed or NDIA-managed: we work with all three.

Privately funded: available if you don’t have a plan, and you’ll get a clear picture of the costs before you book.

If you are not sure which funding applies to you, call us on 1800 678 647 or email hello@opt.net.au. We will sort it out before your first appointment.

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What a BOT-3 assessment involves

01

What is the BOT-3 assessment for?

The BOT-3 (and the BOT-2) measures motor proficiency, meaning how well a person performs fine and gross motor tasks. It is built for people with mild to moderate motor challenges.

At Optimum Health Solutions our Occupational Therapists use it as part of a paediatric motor skills assessment, alongside clinical observation.

As an Occupational Therapy assessment, the BOT-3 provides a structured picture of where a child’s motor skills sit currently. That picture is what a school, a therapy plan or an NDIS planning conversation needs.

In practice the fine motor half looks at things like drawing, cutting and threading, and the gross motor half at things like balancing, catching and moving at speed.

02

What are the sections of the BOT-3 test?

The BOT-3 has eight core subtests:

  • Fine Motor Precision
  • Fine Motor Integration
  • Manual Dexterity
  • Upper Limb Coordination
  • Bilateral Coordination
  • Balance
  • Strength
  • Dynamic Movement
  • plus one supplementary subtest, Extended Balance.

 

There are also supplemental composite scores:

  • Skilled Manual Performance
  • Movement Fundamentals and Motor Planning
  • Coordination.

03

How is the BOT-3 administered?

The BOT-3 is administered one to one by a trained clinician, at Optimum Health Solutions an Occupational Therapist. The full assessment takes approximately 50-90 minutes, with the Fine Motor section taking 25-45 minutes and the Gross Motor Form taking 25-45 minutes.

Which assessments your child focuses on depends on the purpose of the assessment, for example, for a report for a school or the NDIS.

To a child it looks like a series of games with pencils, beads, a ball and balance tasks, and your Occupational Therapist records how each task is done as well as the score. If your child was assessed before 2024, you may be wondering about the older edition.

04

Is the BOT-2 still valid?

The BOT-2 was superseded by the BOT-3 in 2024 and the BOT-2 Q-global reports and subscriptions stopped being supported on February 28, 2026.

This just means it was retired in favour of a newer version with refreshed norms and updated subtests. It does not change what an earlier result recorded.

A BOT-2 score describes how a child performed on the day against the group that edition was scored against. If your child was assessed with the BOT-2 in the past, that result is still a recognised baseline.

Optimum Health Solutions is moving to the BOT-3, and some clinics are completing their remaining BOT-2 assessments first, so your Occupational Therapist will tell you which edition your child’s assessment will use when you book. 

05

How is the BOT-3 different from the BOT-2?

The most visible change is the age range, 4:0 (4 years) to 25:11 (25 years and 11 months) against 4:0 to 21:11 (21 years and 11 months) for the BOT-2.

The structure is “eight core subtests and one supplementary subtest”: the core eight keep most of the BOT-2’s names, with Dynamic Movement in place of the BOT-2’s Running Speed and Agility, and Extended Balance as the supplementary subtest.

New supplemental composite scores including Motor Planning and Coordination, Growth Scale Values, and longer completion times than the BOT-2.

The normalised assessment baselines are US based in both editions. 

06

How much does the BOT-3 assessment cost?

The cost of a BOT-3 assessment depends on which form of the assessment is used, whether it sits inside a wider motor skills assessment, and how detailed the report has to be.

For NDIS participants, the motor proficiency assessment is listed as its own service line in our Occupational Therapy services.

If you’re paying privately, you’ll get a clear picture of the costs before you book.

After you inital referral, our intake team can also tell you how a BOT-3 assessment relates to a broader Occupational Therapy assessment before anything is booked.

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How our Occupational Therapists run the BOT-3 assessment

It starts with the reason for the referral. Your Occupational Therapist will ask what you and the school have noticed, whether that is handwriting, buttons, catching a ball or keeping up in the playground. They’ll ask what you want the assessment to answer. From that they will decide which form of the BOT-3 fits, and whether it should sit inside a wider paediatric motor skills assessment.

The session itself is a set of structured tasks done one to one. Your Occupational Therapist will score each one against the age norms. They’ll also note what the test alone doesn’t capture: how your child approaches a new task, their attention and focus, and how the clinic performance compares with home or school.

After the session your Occupational Therapist will write the report, which brings the test scores, the observations and your account together in one document. You’ll get it to keep and share with the school or your NDIS planner, and, where therapy follows, the goals are written in everyday language and measured in everyday tasks. A repeat assessment is usually suggested around twelve months after the first.

a paediatric physiotherapist encourages a child in their training against toe walking
NDIS

BOT-3 assessments through the NDIS

For NDIS participants a BOT-3 assessment is usually funded from the Capacity Building part of a plan, as part of Occupational Therapy supports; our intake team confirms the category in the plan.

Motor proficiency assessment is a named service line in our Occupational Therapy services. The report gives a family and their planner a standardised baseline of motor skills to bring to a planning conversation, alongside the Occupational Therapist’s recommendations for therapy or school support.

Support Coordinators and plan managers can refer directly through our Referrers Hub, and we’ll confirm the funding line before the first appointment.

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COMMON QUESTIONS

Common questions about BOT-3 assessments

What is the BOT-3 assessment for?
Measuring motor proficiency: how well a person performs fine and gross motor tasks compared with others of the same age. Pearson describes it as a comprehensive measure of gross and fine motor skills, for people from typically developing through to those with mild to moderate motor challenges. Our Occupational Therapists use it as the standardised part of a paediatric motor skills assessment.
Eight core subtests, in Pearson’s names: Fine Motor Precision, Fine Motor Integration, Manual Dexterity, Upper Limb Coordination, Bilateral Coordination, Balance, Strength and Dynamic Movement, plus a supplementary Extended Balance subtest. Pearson also describes supplemental composite scores, including Motor Planning and Coordination, and Growth Scale Values, a new score type used across repeat assessments.
One to one by a trained clinician, at Optimum Health Solutions an Occupational Therapist, on paper or digitally through Pearson’s Q-global platform. Pearson quotes 50 to 90 minutes for the complete form and 25 to 45 minutes for the fine motor or gross motor form on its own. Your Occupational Therapist chooses the form that answers the question you’ve brought.
Pearson lists the BOT-3 as published in July 2024 with an age range of 4:0 to 25:11, against 4:0 to 21:11 for the BOT-2. It has eight core subtests plus a supplementary Extended Balance subtest, a Dynamic Movement subtest in place of Running Speed and Agility, a new Motor Planning and Coordination score, Growth Scale Values, and longer completion times.
Pearson, the publisher, states that the BOT-2 was superseded by the BOT-3 in 2024 and that its Q-global reports for the BOT-2 stopped being supported on 28 February 2026. A BOT-2 result still describes how a child performed against the second edition’s norms on the day it was done. Optimum Health Solutions is moving to the BOT-3, with some clinics completing their remaining BOT-2 assessments first, and the report names the edition used.
Pearson has retired the BOT-2 in favour of the BOT-3 and no longer supports its digital scoring reports. A past BOT-2 result remains a baseline for your child: it records how they performed against that edition’s norms at the time. Optimum Health Solutions is moving to the BOT-3 as clinics complete their remaining BOT-2 assessments, and your Occupational Therapist will tell you which edition applies when you book.
It depends on which form is used, whether it sits inside a wider motor skills assessment, and how detailed the report has to be, so there isn’t one figure. For NDIS participants the assessment is usually funded from the Capacity Building part of a plan, and our intake team confirms the category. If you’re paying privately, you’ll get a clear picture of the costs before you book.
The BOT-3 prices you’ll find online are kit prices, which is what a clinic pays Pearson for the manual, forms and equipment. They aren’t what an assessment costs a family. Our intake team will tell you the costs for your child’s assessment before you book.
CLINICALLY REVIEWED BY

Reviewed by Sarah-Louise Higgins

BSc (hons) Occ Thy
Head of Clinical Development (Occupational Therapy)
With over 10 years of clinical experience practicing in the United Kingdom and Australia, Sarah-Louise is an Occupational Therapist with a strong background in mental health, assistive technology, and home modifications.
Read More By Sarah-Louise Higgins
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