This study reports effects of a neurobehavioral intervention approach on motor skills of four children (ages 1 to 3) with cerebral palsy. Children demonstrated generalization of the movement component by using it to perform both a treated exemplar skill and an untreated exemplar skill, indicating that motor skills can be treated concurrently.…

Examined organization of 5.5, 8.5, and 11.5-month-olds' reaching skill for stationary and moving targets. Found that infants of all ages made anticipatory adjustments of hand alignment; effectiveness of these adjustments improved with age. Regardless of age, infants used dynamic information from spinning and oscillating targets to update ongoing…

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…

This article considers the relation between symptoms of movement disturbance and symptoms of autism. Analysis points out the difficulties posed by current definitions of "autism" and ways that a movement disturbance can affect a person's experience of life as well as how he/she is perceived by others. (DB)

This article describes Success in Physical Activity, a program for students with autism. The program, based on adaptations of the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communications-Handicapped Children (TEACCH) recreational structure program, focuses on two areas: physical fitness and motor ability. (Contains seven references.)…

Examined effects of spatial precues on rapid execution of aim in 7-, 9-, and 11-year-olds, providing kinematic support to the role of precues in aiming tasks performed under temporal constraints. Found that precuing spatial dimensions of movement shortened reaction times as a function of the number of precued parameters. Spatial precues modified…

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…

Recommends play activities in which children look, listen, taste, smell, and touch. Includes appropriate ages for activities and gives directions for several games, including peek and seek, water play, bean bags, and hot potato. (DLH)

This study sought to descriptively evaluate the performance of fundamental gross motor skills among Head Start children. Levels of performance were compared and contrasted with performance profiles of the Test of Gross Motor Development. Findings suggest that Head Start curriculum should focus on the importance of developing fundamental gross…

Reviews research on the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) approach in physical education, noting that many discussions of TGfU have focused on cognitive and psychomotor learning outcomes and neglected the affective domain. An extended TGfU model is presented, suggesting new avenues for future research and practice (e.g., consideration of…

Presents a new version of the Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) model in physical education which draws on a situated learning perspective, describing the TGfU approach, reviewing recent research on TGfU, discussing constructs for conceptualizing learning in games, and outlining a situated learning perspective. This perspective is applied to…

Thirty-five children diagnosed with autism or pervasive developmental disorders at age 2 were re-evaluated 2 years later for factors related to spoken language development including child variables and environmental variables. After controlling for age 2 language skills, the only significant predictors of age 4 language skills were motor imitation…

Examined the development of seven infants with "missing milestones" in motor development. Found that three children had normal development, three developed global developmental delay, and one was diagnosed with multiple cavernous haemangiomata in the brain. Suggested that missing milestones can be a benign variation of normal motor…

Fitness testing is an important assessment tool used by physical educators for many purposes. Some states require fitness testing to monitor individual student progress throughout the school year. Some physical educators use it to monitor the effects of the physical education curriculum and to teach concepts such as goal setting and personal…

We investigated the differences in mechanical power flow in early and late practice stages during a cyclic movement consisting of upper arm circumduction to clarify the change in mechanical energy use with skill acquisition. Seven participants practiced the task every other day until their joint angular movements conformed to those of an expert.…