Tag Archives: visual motor

Psymark Featured on the OT Schoolhouse Podcast: Exploring Digital Visual-Motor Assessments

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Technology is transforming school-based occupational therapy, and the latest episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast highlights a game-changing tool that’s making assessments more efficient than ever. In this episode, Karen Silberman, creator of the Psymark Psymark Visual-Motor Progress Monitoring Apps, and occupational therapist Heather Donovan join host Jayson Davies to dive into the latest innovations in Psymark’s digital tools for visual-motor assessments. This tool not only saves time but also equips practitioners and educators with actionable intervention strategies—helping support students more effectively while reducing unnecessary referrals.

Psymark Visual-Motor apps

What You’ll Learn

In this episode, listeners will gain insights into Psymark’s groundbreaking research and the effectiveness of its digital tools. Highlights include:

  • Pencil-Finger-Stylus Study: Findings show that digital input methods produce nearly identical results to traditional pencil-and-paper tasks, reinforcing the validity of digital assessments.
  • Concurrent Validity Study: Recent research demonstrates that the Psymark Shapes test has a strong correlation with the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI), a widely recognized assessment tool.
  • Real-World Impact: A case study from a school district revealed a 48% increase in students reaching the Proficient range after a 12-week intervention, highlighting the effectiveness of targeted support using Psymark’s tools.

A Sneak Peek at an Exciting New Digital Visual-Motor Assessment

Listeners will also get an exclusive preview of the upcoming Psymark Visual Motor Screener (VMS), set to launch this spring! This powerful screening tool is designed for both occupational therapists and general education teachers, allowing them to efficiently assess large groups of students and provide tailored intervention strategies for those who need additional support.

The VMS toolkit will include:

  • The Visual Motor Screener (VMS)
  • A training video
  • A comprehensive manual

This new tool will empower professionals to quickly identify visual-motor challenges and implement targeted strategies to help students succeed.

Don’t Miss This Episode!

Hear how Psymark is leading the way in digital visual-motor assessments. visit otschoolhouse.com/episode171 to listen and discover how these advancements are shaping the future of occupational therapy and student success.

At Therapro, we’re committed to providing resources and tools that support therapists, educators, and families. Stay connected for more updates on the latest in assessments and interventions!

OT Rubrics for Fine Motor, Visual Motor and Handwriting Skills

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Valorie Todd, MA, OTR/LWhen a group of OTs get together to brainstorm, there’s bound to be some exciting “stuff” that is the outcome. Valorie Todd, MA, OTR/L and her school-based practice colleagues in the New York and New Jersey vicinity had a goal in mind. They wanted to devise a way to monitor quarterly progress in performance skills they identified as “OT goals” or “Areas of Need” on the IEP that was based on normative data. Valorie discussed the rubrics her group developed during her Therapro Saturday Seminar Series workshop on August 22, 2015 entitled:  OT Rubrics for Fine Motor, Visual Motor and Handwriting Skills.

This seminar was the kick-off for the Fall Saturday Seminar Series and attracted about 60 attendees who listened closely, commented freely, and shared thoughts. Valorie and her colleagues were determined to conceive a way to assess a student’s performance against predetermined criteria, in which a student is measured against his own performance.

Valorie’s group identified 7 areas for assessment including:

  • Postural Control
  • Sensory Modulation
  • Ocular Motor Skills
  • Object Manipulation: Fine Motor/Hand Skills
  • Controlled Tool Use: Color, Trace, Cut
  • Design Copy: Graphics/Objects, and
  • Handwriting.

In her seminar, Valorie discussed Object Manipulation, Controlled Tool Use, Design Copy, and Handwriting. Fine Motor Rubrics for Kindergarten and Grade 1 were identified.

Valorie offered a thoroughly researched plan on how to assess function and address the skill through worksheets that acknowledged how a student was expected to progress sequentially in each area.  She made clear distinctions in skills expected of a kindergartner versus a first grader.  For example, when assessing “Tracing,” specifically Pencil Control:

A kindergartner would receive a score of 4 if he:

  • “Controls lines with min. errors 90-100%”
  • “Stops/turns at corners (angles/arcs)”

A first grader would receive a score of 4 if he

  • “Has good control within/on lines in all directions (90-100%)”
  • “Starts/stops on dots with 1-2 errors”

Valorie’s rubrics were well-defined and can be easily replicated. She was very enthused about sharing her work, including worksheets, and encouraged therapists to use her rubrics and provide her with feedback so that the rubrics can further be developed with input and use over time. As a result, a meaningful assessment of quarterly progress can be obtained and insufficient areas can be addressed systematically and meaningfully before the student is due for the next standardized evaluation.

Attendees comments were very positive and encouraging:

“It was excellent! So much info, well related to school based OTs. This will be helpful in writing goals, tracking progress, presenting at meetings, and for my Teachpoint eval.”  Amanda B., Occupational Therapist

“It helps so much to have these rubrics to support our clinical observations when IEPs are moving toward data driven/measurable goals and objectives. It will help with tracking and also guide thinking when working on skills.”  Anonymous, Occupational Therapist

“Love the practicality of the Rubrics.  Anything we can take away & use is terrific!”  Amanda H., Occupational Therapist

“Looks at detail of task performance and observation of foundational skills which students have or need to build on.”  Anonymous,  Occupational Therapist

“I would recommend this seminar to a colleague because it was well researched and the information was very comprehensive.  The material is very current and I can readily apply this information.”  Anonymous, Occupational Therapist

Thank you, Val!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L

Visual and Motor Cohesion: The Beery VMI

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The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test (more commonly known as the Beery VMI) detects difficulties in connecting visual perception and motor skills. The test is a Visual-Motor Integration Test (VMI) for ages two and up. It takes about 10-15 minutes to complete, and has two supplemental tests that last five minutes each, as needed.Beery VMI

The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, 6th Edition (BEERY VMI)This VMI test examines how well an individual integrates visual and motor skills by having them look at 24 drawings. (There is a short form of this test that is often used with two to eight-year-olds, which only tests 15 drawings.) The drawings present simple geometric shapes from the most simple to the most complex. The examinee looks at the shape, then copies each drawing into the Test Booklet.

If the full or short form tests indicate a need for further testing, then the two supplemental tests are administered. These two supplemental tests are the VMI Visual Perception Test and the VMI Motor Coordination Test. They follow the same form as the main test, which ensures that the results are easy to compare.

The starter kit for the Beery VMI includes a manual, 10 full form tests, 10 short form tests, 10 Visual Perception supplemental forms, and 10 Motor Coordination supplemental forms.

Various teaching materials aid this test. These tools help improve visual, motor, and visual-motor function for children pre-elementary school. The booklet of Developmental Teaching Activities headlines the teaching materials. This booklet includes over 250 activities to help a child establish an understanding of art, pre-reading and pre-writing, and athletic skills. Each level has activities directed towards gross motor, fine motor, visual perception, and visual-motor development.

Next in the line of teaching activities is called My Book of Shapes. From the title, you can get a sense of its contents. This book contains 100 geometric exercises that children in preschool and kindergarten can use to improve their motor, visual, and motor-visual function. These activities give children a jump-start for recognizing letter and numeral shapes that the child will experience in school.

Beery VMI, cover of the book Developmental Teaching Activities for Visual Motor IntegrationThe Beery VMI Stepping Stones Parent Checklist provides an easily accessible list of key developmental “stepping stones.” This list helps parents to track a child’s development from pre-kindergarten through early elementary. While many schools provide developmental feedback, this home checklist helps you observe your child’s development outside of a school setting.

For parents and professionals, the Developmental Wall Chart for Visual-Motor Integration is a colorful chart of gross motor, fine motor, and visual-motor stepping stones. This chart marks development from birth to age six. Many parents and professionals find it useful to have this clear chart on hand for easy reference.

The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test is currently in its 6th edition. This edition was standardized based on a national sample of 1,737 children aged 2 to 18, and the adult norms derive from a sample of 1,021 individuals aged 18 to 100. The Manual for this test includes about 600 norms from birth through age 6 to track and understand visual and motor development.

The Beery VMI Test finds any weaknesses in a child’s development, but also effectively assesses adults of all ages. The Teaching Materials improve any underdeveloped areas, both proactively and reactively, to provide successful integration of visual perception and motor skills.