In view of the current use of the Carolina Curriculum for Preschoolers with Special Needs (Carolina) as an alternative to the widely used Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development (Brigance) for assessing the motor development of preschool aged children, a study was undertaken to establish the validity of the Carolina using the Brigance as a criterion test. A sample of 2 7 preschool special education children ranging in age from 36 to 71 months from three categories-learning handicapped (LH), severely handicapped (SH) and severely handicapped Down's Syndrome children (SHD)-were assessed by an adapted physical education specialist. Each subject was evaluated on two separate days within one week using the Carolina and the Brigance. The subjects were also evaluated concurrently by their classroom teachers using a Teacher Observation check sheet prepared by the adapted physical education specialist. Correlation coefficients using the developmental age scores obtained on the three test instruments and the correlations comparing the three categories to each test instrument ranged from .90 to .98 (r. (25) = .486, p < .01 ). These findings offered strong support for the concurrent validity of the Carolina. Additional analysis of the data using a 3 x 3 ANOVA for repeated measures resulted in a significant F ratio for the dependent variable of functional level, E (2,24) = 4.82, p = 0.174. The Sheffe post hoc analysis procedure indicated a statistically significant difference between the LH and the SHD categories. vi

Early childhood is a time to build the foundational skills that are needed to be a successful learner in primary school. Preschool students in Singapore are expected to be able to write their name and the letters of the alphabet with appropriate speed by the end of kindergarten. However, there is a gap in common standards and handwriting instruction practices among early childhood educators. Teaching handwriting explicitly improves handwriting legibility and fluency, and direct handwriting instruction is especially important for children who are at-risk of challenges in writing and reading. A student’s handwriting fluency and legibility is predicted by teacher competence in providing handwriting instruction. Evidence shows that teachers feel they are insufficiently prepared in teaching handwriting to their students, are not equipped to identify fine-motor delay in children and lack the knowledge to help the children in their class who are struggling to learn to write. The proposed professional development program entitled Handwriting Success for School is a professional development program by occupational therapists for early childhood educators. The program aims to increase the knowledge, confidence and competence of early childhood educators in Singapore to teach handwriting and support children who show difficulties mastering handwriting skills. The content and design of the program is developed following a thorough literature review on effective professional development for teachers. Principles of Adult Learning Theory and Collaborative Consultation model guide the development of the design of the program. When teachers collaborate with occupational therapists in addressing handwriting acquisition and intervention for their preschool students, teachers feel supported to help struggling students. Occupational therapists, with their knowledge and expertise in neurodevelopment and sensory-motor development makes them key professionals in training teachers to teach handwriting. By increasing early childhood educators' understanding of the importance to practice the evidence-based principles of handwriting instruction, it will lead to better student outcomes in their handwriting development at the preschool level.

Due the fear of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), parents have been putting infants on their backs. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) started to recommend balancing sleeping in supine with prone play - also called Tummy Time-to encourage optimal, healthy infant development (Zachry & Kitzman, 2011). Due to various reasons, parents avoid putting the infants in the prone position even when awake. Evidence-based literature has shown that infants sleeping in supine without spending time in prone can lead to motor delay in their first year of life (Barlett & Fanning Kneale, 2003; Dudek-Shriber & Zelazny, 2007). Evidence also shows that weight bearing in prone is associated with motor development (Salls et al. 2002). This doctoral project attempts to identify the links between prone activities, postural control and fine motor development through research on evidence-based literature. It also provides a theoretical foundation, investigates the evidence and best practice in designing an educational package on prone play for typically developing and high risks infants. It also advocates best practice in occupational therapy by addressing a lack of evidenced based literature and attempts to add to the knowledge base in regards to tummy time and its effect on fine motor development. The target audiences are parents and caregivers of infants; the health care professionals that work with them; the funding agencies and policy makers. The qualitative and quantitative benefits of the parent education program will align with health promotion and wellness initiatives of the Ontario government. The project will describes a detailed evaluation plan and dissemination of results with estimated budgets. This will include presentation to the community and the ministries in the government. The project will contribute to these areas of occupational therapy: (1) addressing evidence-based practice in tummy time with typically developing and high risks infants; (2) providing best practice for implementing a Prone to Play program to foster upper extremity motor development; and (3) promoting health and wellness initiatives in occupational therapy.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

No description available.

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Thesis (M Sport Sc (Sport Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The influence of a six-week perceptual-motor and attentional skills programme, combined with teaching strategies, on the motor proficiency and attentional abilities of children diagnosed with ADHD was investigated. The five case study individuals (ranging for Grade 1- 7) took part in a six-week Purposeful Play Programme. Baseline, pre-test and post-test scores were obtained from the Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Test (ADHDT). All five case study individuals showed a significant improvement on their motor proficiency during retention tests as well as improvements on some of the behavioural soft signs of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. / AFRIKAANDE OPSOMMING: Die invloed van ʼn sesweek perseptueel-motoriese en aandagvaardigheidsprogram, gekombineer met onderrigstrategieë, is op die motoriese vaardighede en aandagvermoëns van kinders gediagnoseer met ATHS, bestudeer. Die vyf gevallestudie individue (tussen Graad 1- 7) het aan „n sesweek Purposeful Play Programme deelgeneem. Die basislyn-, voor- en natoetstellings is verkry vanaf die Bruininks- Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) en Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Test (ADHDT). Al vyf gevallestudie individue het ʼn beduidende verbetering in motoriese vaardigheid getoon tydens retensietoetse asook verbetering in sommige van die gedragstekens van hiperaktiwiteit, impulsiwiteit en afleibaarheid.

This thesis assesses the link between action and cognition early in development. Thus the notion of an embodied cognition is investigated by tying together two levels of action control in the context of reaching in infancy: prospective motor control and executive functions. The ability to plan our actions is the inevitable foundation of reaching our goals. Thus actions can be stratified on different levels of control. There is the relatively low level of prospective motor control and the comparatively high level of cognitive control. Prospective motor control is concerned with goal-directed actions on the level of single movements and movement combinations of our body and ensures purposeful, coordinated movements, such as reaching for a cup of coffee. Cognitive control, in the context of this thesis more precisely referred to as executive functions, deals with goal-directed actions on the level of whole actions and action combinations and facilitates directedness towards mid- and long-term goals, such as finishing a doctoral thesis. Whereas prospective motor control and executive functions are well studied in adulthood, the early development of both is not sufficiently understood. This thesis comprises three empirical motion-tracking studies that shed light on prospective motor control and executive functions in infancy. Study I investigated the prospective motor control of current actions by having 14-month-olds lift objects of varying weights. In doing so, multi-cue integration was addressed by comparing the use of visual and non-visual information to non-visual information only. Study II examined the prospective motor control of future actions in action sequences by investigating reach-to-place actions in 14-month-olds. Thus the extent to which Fitts’ law can explain movement duration in infancy was addressed. Study III lifted prospective motor control to a higher that is cognitive level, by investigating it relative to executive functions in 18-months-olds. Main results were that 14-month-olds are able to prospectively control their manual actions based on object weight. In this action planning process, infants use different sources of information. Beyond this ability to prospectively control their current action, 14-month-olds also take future actions into account and plan their actions based on the difficulty of the subsequent action in action sequences. In 18-month-olds, prospective motor control in manual actions, such as reaching, is related to early executive functions, as demonstrated for behavioral prohibition and working memory. These findings are consistent with the idea that executive functions derive from prospective motor control. I suggest that executive functions could be grounded in the development of motor control. In other words, early executive functions should be seen as embodied.

Title: Specifics of motor development in children with autism spectrum disorder Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to summarize the accessible literary sources about possibilities of early diagnostic of autism spectrum disorders, characteristic features of motor development and presence of movement and other abnormalities during early development in children who were later diagnosed with some disorder of autism spectrum. Methods: The study is divided into two main parts. In the first part, general information about autism spectrum disorders is presented. The ethiopatogenesis, characteristic features and different types of autism spectrum disorders are described. The second, descriptively analitical part, contains a brief description and resume of many studies, which deal with early identification of autism spectrum disorder, with examination of features of autism spectrum disorder in early development and motor abnormalities in individuals with autism spectrum disorder or high risk infants. Results: The results of this study indicate, that there are differences in social behaviour, motor development and specific autistic features already in the early development of children later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Among motor abnormalities in early development in this children there are...

Title: The impact of elementary schools orientation on leisure time activities structure and physical fitness at child population, age 9- 14, in Litomerice town Objectives: The aim of the thesis was to determine, if different conceptual orientation of selected elementary schools (aesthetic-music- oriented, sports-oriented) has a significant influence on the structure of leisure time activities and the level of physical fitness of children aged 9-14 years. Methods: The study presents empirical quantitative research, which consists of sample of 202 students selected from two elementary schools in Litomerice town. Level of physical fitness was determined using standardized test battery UNIFITTEST (6-60) and the structure of leisure time activities were detected by sociological questionnaire COMPASS II. For the analysis of the data obtained we used descriptive statistical methods, t-test, analysis of variance ANOVA, chi-square test and coefficient of effect size Cohen d, z-test, Hays omega and effect size etha - η2 . Results: Significant impact of the different conceptual orientation was reflected in the only one of the monitored fields, in the level of physical fitness, but not in the structure of leisure time activities. Sports-oriented school reached significantly better results p < 0,05 and Cohen d...