This article illustrates the author's discovery that the key to any successful dance unit is finding ways for students to make connections and want to dance. While reflecting on the purpose of dance in the curriculum, the author identified important skills and concepts he wanted his students to master, such as rhythm, balance, and…

Background: Empirical research suggests that social disadvantage has a negative effect on the development of language, and related cognitive skills such as reading. There is, however, no corresponding body of research on the impact of social disadvantage on motor development. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of…

Autonomously developing organisms face several challenges when learning reaching movements. First, motor control is learned unsupervised or self-supervised. Second, knowledge of sensorimotor contingencies is acquired in contexts in which action consequences unfold in time. Third, motor redundancies must be resolved. To solve all 3 of these…

This final report details the outcomes of a 3-year project involving children with severe disabilities (ages birth-6) designed to: (1) determine the effectiveness of specific therapeutic intervention techniques on the development of basic motor skills in young children with severe and multiple disabilities; (2) explore the relationship between…

Body movement can be successfully integrated with language arts skills through the following six-step model: (1) begin with the auditory channel (chant the poem to the child and emphasize the sounds); (2) add rhythm (clap the beat, stressing the accents); (3) add movement (watch the execution); (4) add meaning (discuss each phrase, and use imagery…

Guidelines are presented to special educators and adapted physical educators for assessing the psychomotor development of severely handicapped students. The importance of determining whether there is an abnormality in central nervous system development is emphasized. Assessment information is presented for 15 topic areas: reflex analysis, muscle…

Abstracts of 13 papers given at a 1983 conference on autistic children are presented: "Autism--Is There a Neurological Basis?" (G. McKhann); "The Syndrome of Autism: A Medical Model" (E. Ritvo) (full paper); "Neuropsychological Testing of Peripheral and Central Communicative Disorders" (H. Mark); "A Psychiatrist Views the Neurological Basis of the…

An investigation was made of the behavioral effects of caffeine in a sample of 313 newborns and their mothers. A weighted measure of caffeine based on daily ingestion of coffee, tea, and cola was derived from a maternal interview. The majority of mothers consumed the equivalent of about 1.3 cups of coffee per day. Infant outcome measures included…

The study was designed to measure language, cognitive, perceptual, and oral-motor abilities in 17 preschoolers referred for speech-language evaluation because of unintelligible speech. Ss were administered a test battery which included tests of hearing, coarticulation, vocabulary, speech sound discrimination, and oral examination of the speech…

This paper describes motor development and movement skills and lists activities appropriate for kindergarten students. Locomotor, stability, and manipulative skills are defined and stick figure drawings are presented of kindergarten-level exercises. Games for enhancing locomotor and manipulative skills are described. "Stunts" and other activities…

Intended for parents of handicapped preschool children, the booklet suggests ways parents can stimulate the development of their children through activities that occur naturally in the home setting. An initial section provides behavior management guidelines such as using success, encouragement, and praise to develop the child's enjoyment of…

Factor structures of various eye-hand coordination tasks were examined for children, ages 4-1/2 to 8-1/2. Theoretical models of skilled action development are discussed. (ST)

Discusses the value of block building in fostering motor and social development and suggests environmental components that will produce a constructive and imaginative use of blocks. (CS)