The Relationship Between Manual Dexterity in Preschool Children and TATI Board Game Indicators – A Preliminary Study

Background Manual dexterity (MD) is a fundamental aspect of child motor development, directly influencing daily and school-related tasks. Its evaluation has traditionally relied on standardized tests, such as the Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT), which assesses the speed and precision of fine motor movements. However, these tests may present limitations in child engagement and motivation, as they are often less appealing and less representative of everyday contexts. In contrast, game-based approaches, such as the TATI board game, can enhance motivation and enable the observation of motor performance in a more spontaneous and natural way. Objective Analyze the motor performance of participants aged 4 to 6 using the TATI board game and to explore its potential as a tool for evaluating MD. Methodology 47 participants were evaluated using the PPT and the TATI board game. Performance variables were analyzed, including TATI - task execution time, number of attempts and the occurrence of errors; PPT – number of pegs per second. Results The results showed significant differences between age groups in TATI execution time: right hand ( p = .026), left hand ( p = .009), and bilateral ( p < .001). Six-year-old children demonstrated significantly shorter times compared to 4 and 5-year-olds in all conditions. Negative correlations were also found between performance on the TATI and the PPT: right hand ( ρ = −.31; p = .032), left hand ( r = −.38; p = .008), and bilateral ( ρ = −.45; p = .001), suggesting that better performance on the test was associated with faster performance in the game. TATI showed greater variability in results among participants, possibly due to its closer similarity to ecological contexts. Conclusion TATI board game shows potential as a tool for evaluating and identifying different levels of MD in preschool-aged subjects in agreement with the results obtained from the PPT. Future research should include a larger sample and explore the TATI potential to identify MD disorders.