When observing children playing rhythm echoes with percussion instruments it was noticed that they can repeat a certain number of sounds accurately and that this number increases depending on the children's age and musical experience. It was thought likely that this number has a direct correlation not only with the children's stage of motor…

The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying structure of the second edition of the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (Ulrich, 2000) as applied to Chinese children. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 was administered to 626 Hong Kong Chinese children. The outlier test with standard scoring was utilized. After data screening, a total…

Multiple levels of category inclusiveness in 4 object domains (animals, vehicles, fruit, and furniture) were examined using a sequential touching procedure and assessed in both individual and group analyses in eighty 12-, 18-, 24-, and 30-month-olds. The roles of stimulus discriminability and child motor development, fatigue, and actions were also…

In this article, the author comments on an interesting study conducted by Kennedy and colleagues about the relationship between motor development, child rearing practices, and positional plagiocephaly (in recent literature also referred to as deformational plagiocephaly (DP) or nonsynostotic plagiocephaly). From the author's perspective, their…

Difficulties in motor processing are often seen in children with specific literacy difficulties. Indeed many children with dyslexia may also have a diagnosis of dyspraxia. This article seeks to increase understanding of difficulties in motor processing and to provide practical advice to teachers to assist in identification of such difficulties. It…

Purpose: The present investigation was designed to study the modulation of abdomen and rib cage movements during vocalization over a period of development associated with rapid decreases in the compliance of the chest wall. Method: Rib cage and abdominal kinematics were recorded during spontaneous vocalizations in 7- and 11-month old infants.…

Previously, we adapted the Home Situations Questionnaire to measure behavioral non-compliance in everyday settings in children with pervasive developmental disorders. In this study, we further revised this instrument for use in autism spectrum disorder and examined its psychometric properties (referred to as the Home Situations…

Background: Studies have shown that some children do not participate in sport or exercise because they did not establish early coordination and basic motor skills while at school. Basic motor skills form significant parts of the goals for students to achieve in the Swedish school subject Physical Education and Health (PEH). Aims: The aim was to…

The influences of child participation in interest-based learning activities on the development of 17 preschoolers with autism was the focus of this brief report. The children's mothers identified their children's interests and the everyday family and community activities that provided opportunities for interest-based learning. Parents then…

The purpose of this study was to describe the course of capabilities in self-care, mobility, and social function in school-age children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to investigate associations with CP-, child-, and family-characteristics. A clinic-based sample of children with CP (n = 116; 76 males, 40 females; mean age 6 y 3 mo, SD 12 mo) was…

Consolidation is a time-dependent process responsible for the storage of information in long-term memory. As such, it plays a crucial role in motor learning. In two experiments, we sought to determine whether one's performance influences the outcome of the consolidation process. We used a visuomotor adaptation task in which the cursor moved by the…

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe how the usefulness of the hemiplegic hand develops in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) aged between 18 months and 8 years. Method: A prospective longitudinal study of 43 children (22 males, 21 females) with unilateral CP was conducted. Inclusion age was 18 months to 5 years 4 months (mean 2y…

One way to help physical education preservice students to think critically about the learning of physical skills is to provide hands-on experiences in which performance and learning can be seen and measured. Developing knowledge of these processes, however, requires creative and carefully planned exercises that can illustrate principles in a…

Background: The teaching strategies of modeling and the use of cue words are employed by both experienced and inexperienced teachers. While these strategies have received some attention in the literature, the effectiveness of these strategies in terms of the resultant change in the quality or kinematics of the motor skill performance has been…

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) refers to a delay in motor development that does not have any known medical cause. Studies conducted in English speaking societies have found that children with DCD display a higher co-occurrence rate of learning difficulties (e.g., problems in reading and writing) than typically developing (TD) children.…