Development, Validation and Feasibility of a Yoga-Based Motor Assessment Tool (Y-MAT) for Children with ADHD: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

Background Motor dysregulation occurs in 30–50% of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), reflecting impairments in neuromuscular control linked to fronto-striato-cerebellar circuitry. Conventional motor batteries may not adequately capture ADHD-specific regulatory deficits. This study aimed to develop, validate, and evaluate the feasibility of a Yoga-Based Motor Assessment Tool (Y-MAT) for children with ADHD. Methods A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted at a tertiary psychiatric centre in India. Seven motor domains implicated in ADHD were identified through a literature review and mapped to yoga-based tasks by subject experts. Content validity was assessed using Lawshe’s Content Validity Ratio (CVR). Using purposive sampling, 24 children aged 8–15 years (12 ADHD, 12 typically developing controls) underwent Y-MAT assessment. ADHD symptom severity and adaptive functioning were evaluated using the ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) and Vineland Social Maturity Scale. Video recordings were independently scored by two blinded raters. An AI prototype employing pose estimation (Google MediaPipe and YOLOv8) was piloted on selected domains. Results Five yoga-based tasks achieved CVR = 1.00 and constituted the final Y-MAT. Feasibility metrics demonstrated high acceptability, demand, implementation fidelity, and practicality. Children with ADHD scored significantly lower than controls (human rating: 10.8 ± 7.1 vs 23.8 ± 4.0, p