Argues that the use of pictures as a teaching and learning strategy benefits early learners with regard to reference image development and provides helpful information to a student who may be separated from teacher feedback. (KEH)

Two studies involving 108 infants of 6, 9, and 12 months showed that providing infants with multiple action-relevant properties elicits a rich action repertoire. (RJC)

Details are presented regarding the essential elements of an effective early childhood physical education curriculum. Components include movement awareness, fundamental locomotor skills, fundamental nonlocomotor skills, fundamental manipulative skills, and health-related fitness. (CB)

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…

Confusion exists concerning basic concepts of motor development, understood as the life-long process of change in an individual's movement behaviors. The article presents 10 common misconceptions; each is followed by a clarification of the concept and a practical example. (SM)

Examined use of Bender Gestalt Visual-Motor Test with school-age adolescents over age 11. Mean error scores suggest that visual-motor development is not maturationally complete by age 11 years, 11 months. Suggests additional research focusing on extending normative sample or developing new scoring system for adolescents. (Author/NB)

Studied the ontogeny of walking by prelocomotor infants. Results support a dynamic systems view of development and the view that upright locomotion emerges from the self-organization of multiple cooperating elements rather than as a result of a preexisting neural code. (Author/GR)

This paper describes the implementation of goal attainment scaling at the Scottish Centre for Children with Motor Impairments. Goal attainment scaling was chosen because of its accommodation of the heterogeneity that exists among children with movement difficulties and their variation in rates of progress. Advantages and problems with the…

A study of eight Dutch individuals (ages 14 to 56) who stutter found that adaptation of stuttering frequency during repeated readings may be a result of motor learning. Furthermore, during repeated readings, reductions in stuttering frequency were not related to reductions in the variability of acoustically derived measures of speech production.…

Subjects with autism (n=36) were assigned a simple "reach, grasp, and place" task. Comparison with nonautistic children who had mental retardation and younger normally developing children found that the autistic subjects had problems in executing goal-directed motor acts even in very simple situations, suggesting an independent and marked…

Used the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency to examine the gross motor proficiency of Hong Kong 5- to 6-year-old preschoolers. Found that both age groups scored well below norms in running speed and agility and well above norms on balance, bilateral coordination, strength, and upper-limb coordination. Boys were superior to girls on…

Argues that motor and cognitive development may be fundamentally interrelated. Summarizes evidence of close co-activation of the neocerebellum and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in functional neuroimaging, similarities in the cognitive sequelae of damage to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the neocerebellum, motor deficits in…

This article examines the theoretical foundations of the Mobility Opportunities Via Education (MOVE) Curriculum, which is designed to teach sitting, standing, and walking skills to students with physical disabilities. By incorporating natural environment, functional activities, scaffolding, and partial participation, the curriculum enables…

Discusses the development of the human hand from birth to age three as it contributes to the formation of human personality. Considers how parallels in eye, hand, brain, and motor skill development portray the evolving complexity and adaptation of the human grasp and illustrate Montessori theories about the relationship between physical experience…

Through experiences with toddlers at the ADC-Ridgecrest Physical Activity Program, the authors have found there are many ways to encourage and promote the "Active Start" guidelines through play. Their research and collaboration with early childhood specialists suggests that toddlers like to play and that it is particularly important in the overall…