This article describes the approach to testing that guided the recent revision of the Test of Motor Impairment (TOMI). Traditional attempts to measure intrinsic ability lent themselves to the labeling of children as defective. A test score should be regarded rather as a record of available capabilities. Performance depends on the abilities a child brings into play; the use of abilities and the development of skills depend in turn on motivational-emotional factors. Moreover, a composite score does not provide information about the reasons for failure. These considerations led to the compilation of qualitative diagnostic aids. The first directs the tester’s attention to the nature of a child’s failure of motor control, the second to behavioral sources of poor performance. The third checklist is a task-by-task, process-oriented analysis of motor faults designed for clinical diagnosis and professional training. In providing a detailed picture of a child’s performance, the TOMI bridges the gap between assessment and therapy and provides instrumentation for systematic, measurable therapy.

The lack of a system for the analysis and diagnosis of handwriting incompetence has led to the neglect of this area of learning failure. This article describes a new instrument, the Diagnosis and Remediation of Handwriting Problems (DRHP) (Stott, Moyes, & Henderson, 1984b), that has been designed to fill this hiatus. Handwriting problems are divided into (a) faults of concept and style, which reflect failures of learning or teaching, and (b) faults of motor control, which suggest fine-motor or perceptual dysfunction and may have a neurological origin. Specimens of children’s handwriting illustrate this categorization. The methodology of the remedial programs proposed by the DRHP is based on empirical findings about the nature of handwriting movements. These programs are briefly described. There is a need for handwriting specialists to advise teachers and help in the diagnosis of problems. It is suggested that physical education teachers be trained to develop these skills.

This article presents causes of poor motor performance in children other than intrinsic physical disabilities and describes treatment of those problems involving behavioral barriers. Chief among these are motivational-emotional handicaps in the form of lack of confidence, dependence ("learned helplessness"), impulsivity, restlessness, and lethargy. An observational check list for the identification of these nonphysical sources of failure has recently been published as part of the revision of the Stott-Moyes-Henderson Test of Motor Impairment (TOMI-R). The affected children erect defenses against motor challenges by either a frightened refusal to attempt a task (inhibition) or unconscious avoidance strategies such as distractibility, or defeatism. We give guidelines for helping children overcome each of these drawbacks and illustrate in detail the procedures for four of the tasks used in the TOMI-R.