Dance is a universal human behavior and a crucial component of human musicality. When and how does the motivation and tendency to move to music develop? How does this behavior change as a process of maturation and learning? We characterize infants' earliest dance behavior, leveraging parents' extensive at-home observations of their children.…

Exploration is considered essential to infant learning, but few studies have quantified infants' task exploration. The purpose of this study was to quantify how infants explored task space with their feet while learning to activate a kick-activated mobile. Data were analyzed from fifteen 4-month-old infants who participated in a 10-min mobile task…

Atypical motor development has frequently been reported in infants at elevated likelihood for autism spectrum disorder. However, no previous study has used detailed motion capture technology to compare infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder and infant siblings with no familial history of autism spectrum disorder. We investigated…

The current study examines the developmental trajectory of banging movements and its implications for tool use development. Twenty (6- to 15-month-old) infants wore reflective markers while banging a handled cube; movements were recorded at 240 Hz. Results indicated that through the second half-year, banging movements undergo developmental changes…

Three experiments investigated 5- through 8-month-olds' ability to encode self-propelled and caused motion and examined whether processing of motion onset changes when crawling begins. Infants were habituated (Experiments 1 and 2) or familiarized (Experiment 3) with simple causal and noncausal launching events. They then viewed the caused-to-move…

Examined the emergence of principal and secondary movements in Cuban children in their first year of life. Based on 35 examples of observed movements, an integrated program of activity is developed to assist in the development of physical skills which are essential to the development of a well-rounded personality. (AS)

Compared the postural responsiveness of seven-, eight-, and nine-month-old infants. Results indicated greater use of optic flow for postural control after a self-produced locomotor experience. Infants with endogenous (creeping) or artificial (walker) self-produced locomotor experience responded to portions of the optic flow field, whereas…

Compared the spontaneous leg movements of 10 infants with Down Syndrome to those of nondisabled infants matched for chronological age and motor age. Contrary to expectations, no significant difference was found in the frequency of leg movements between the two groups. However, Down Syndrome subjects demonstrated significantly fewer of the most…

Examined influence of child's sex on mothers' expectations about their 11-month-olds' motor development. Found that mothers of girls underestimated their performance on the novel task of crawling down steep and shallow slopes and mothers of boys overestimated their performance. Girls and boys exhibited identical levels of motor performance during…

Infant reaction to adult speech was studied through frame-by-frame analysis of sound films. Infants' actions were found to be synchronized with the organized speech behavior of the adults in his environment. (ST)

Discusses stages of movement in the first 3 years of life with a philosophical dimension regarding evolutionary aspects of movement as first manifestation of "will." Describes how the early childhood environment is prepared to allow for movement and the connection between movement and brain development. Discusses the contribution of…

Describes alternative conceptions to the connection between music and movement by relating aspects of recent research on infant-caregiver interaction to musical development. Claims that existing explanations seem to fall short of providing an explanation adequate for the immediate, expressive, and integrated nature of this bond. (MOK)

Children with Down Syndrome have the potential for the development of a large range and variety of postures, balance reactions, movements, and skills. Sometimes this potential remains relatively untapped resulting in unusual, inefficient, or even detrimental patterns of movement. By handling and playing with the child, he or she becomes more aware…

Intended for use in Florida training programs for caregivers of infants and toddlers with disabilities, this guide presents an overview of the Model of Interdisciplinary Training for Children with Handicaps (MITCH); offers a user's guide to the series; and provides specific information for presenting Module 9, which focuses on motor development.…