An increasing number of findings suggest that cognition is grounded in sensorimotor experiences. Research suggests that fine motor skills (FMS) link to cognitive abilities. Existing studies, however, lack conceptual and methodological differentiation regarding FMS and little is known about the directional nature of links. In study 1, we measured…

D. R. Proffitt and colleagues (e. g., D. R. Proffitt, J. Stefanucci, T. Banton, & W. Epstein, 2003) have suggested that objects appear farther away if more effort is required to act upon them (e.g., by having to throw a ball). The authors attempted to replicate several findings supporting this view but found no effort-related effects in a variety…

Examined infants' ability to retrieve an object from atop a slightly larger object. Found that even 5-month-olds could retrieve objects close in size and fully contiguous with their bases when demands on reaching skill were reduced. Proposed that when they fail this task, it is because they lack the skill to reach the top object without…

Sports-related tool use abilities in children were investigated within a neo-Piagetian framework of development. The object was to establish whether development in the motor domain proceeds in a "stage-like" fashion. A model was developed which suggested how general and precise structural changes might manifest themselves in the sub-domain of tool…

Results confirmed that children differentially use knowledge of results and suggested that any description of motor skill acquisition must account for the complex interaction between developmental level and the difficulty of the task at hand. (Author/DB)

Movement is motivated, encouraged, and governed by psycho-social development, motor development, and humanistic principles as well as by exercise physiology and kinesiology. The Basic Stuff series identifies the body of knowledge which underlies purposeful movement and can be integrated into concept or fundamental skill curricula. (JN)

Twelve mute children (4-12 years old), diagnosed as autistic, were studied in order to describe their sensorimotor functioning and to relate their sensorimotor performance to nonverbal communication and cognitive development. (Author/BD)

Past studies in child development have clearly established that motor development is the basis for later, higher-order developmental processes. The motor developmental approach to learning focuses on the acquisition of skills and concepts in various academic subjects through motor activities. It is based partly on the theory that children, being…

Research supported by the U.S. Office of Education.

This report evaluates the Early Childhood Language-Centered Intervention Program in New York City Public Schools. The program was designed to promote the development of preschool handicapped students in a variety of areas. The program objective proposed that the target students would show statistically significant improvement at the .05 level in…

The effects of a visual motor training program that attempts to teach 5-year-olds the underlying cognitive structures used in copying geometric designs are assessed. The Design Board Program teaches the child a systematic method for analyzing complex two-dimensional graphic patterns. It is based on the theory that accurate replication of geometric…

INTENDED FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS, REMEDIAL SPECIALISTS, AND PSYCHOLOGISTS, THE HANDBOOK PRESENTS A SERIES OF CONCRETE ACTIVITIES AND EXERCISES FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES. FIFTY-THREE BASIC LEARNING ABILITIES OR RESOURCE PROGRAMS ARE GROUPED UNDER SIX MAJOR AREAS--GROSS MOTOR DEVELOPMENT, SENSORY MOTOR INTEGRATION, PERCEPTUAL…