<p>Vårt syfte med studien är att undersöka hur pedagoger arbetar med barnens motoriska utveckling i inomhusmiljön. Vi använder oss av kvalitativa intervjuer med pedagoger i förskolan och skolans förskoleklass till år tre. Det vi är intresserade av är pedagogernas tankar kring användandet av sin inomhusmiljö med avseende på den motoriska utvecklingen hos barnen samt för att se eventuella skillnader mellan verksamhetsfälten. Våra intervjufrågor behandlar fyra huvudområden, användandet av inomhusmiljön, vilka aktiviteter som genomförs, förhållandet till läroplanerna och motorikens betydelse. Resultatet visar att pedagogernas arbetssätt i förskolan och skolan skiljer sig en del inom dessa ämnesområden. Vi gör även en litteraturgenomgång för att bygga upp förståelse för vikten av barns motoriska utveckling och hur den kan ses i samband med inlärningen.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Nancy Getchell, Dept. of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences. Includes bibliographical references.

Vårt syfte med studien är att undersöka hur pedagoger arbetar med barnens motoriska utveckling i inomhusmiljön. Vi använder oss av kvalitativa intervjuer med pedagoger i förskolan och skolans förskoleklass till år tre. Det vi är intresserade av är pedagogernas tankar kring användandet av sin inomhusmiljö med avseende på den motoriska utvecklingen hos barnen samt för att se eventuella skillnader mellan verksamhetsfälten. Våra intervjufrågor behandlar fyra huvudområden, användandet av inomhusmiljön, vilka aktiviteter som genomförs, förhållandet till läroplanerna och motorikens betydelse. Resultatet visar att pedagogernas arbetssätt i förskolan och skolan skiljer sig en del inom dessa ämnesområden. Vi gör även en litteraturgenomgång för att bygga upp förståelse för vikten av barns motoriska utveckling och hur den kan ses i samband med inlärningen.

Controversy still exists among researchers with regard to the most effective intervention methods and the success thereof regarding DCD children. This condition is known to have different underlying causes, which can influence the success of intervention programmes. It is indicated in the literature that intervention of motor difficulties early in the life of the child, can improve motor development and academic achievement and thus contribute to the total wellness of these children. The aims of this study was, firstly, to determine the effect of an intervention programme based on an integrated approach, on 9 to 12 year old farm labourer children with DCD. The data was analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, t-testing as well as effect sizes to determine practical significance. A second aim was to determine the relation between underlying sensory-neurological problems and the measure of success reached with the intervention programme. This data was mainly analysed with descriptive statistics and in a qualitative manner. The third aim was to determine the relation between fine motor manipulation skills and behaviour characteristics as assessed by the teacher and the measure of success reached with an intervention programme. This data was also analysed by means of descriptive data and in a qualitative manner. The sample of the investigation, on a farm in the North-West Province, consists of children of farm workers between the ages of 4 and 12 years (n = 36) who were evaluated according to the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) test (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) to determine their DCD status. Eight children (5 girls and 3 boys) were classified with DCD. One girl was identified in the 9 to 10 year old group, and 5 boys and 2 girls (n = 7) were in the 1 l to 12 year old group. These children were also evaluated on the "Sensory-Neurological Screening test" (Auxter et al., 2001), the ''Qwck Neurological Screening test" (Mutti et al., 1978), and the "Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor proficiency" (Bruininks, 1978) in order to determine the possible underlying causes of their problems on which the content of the intervention programme was based. The MABC Checklist (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) was used to determine the children's fine motor manipulation skills as well as their behaviour characteristics as assessed by their teachers. The children were tested eight weeks prior to (PREI), and again just before the programme started (PRE2) in order to determine the effect of maturation. Immediately after the intervention programme of 8 weeks, twice a week for 45 minutes was completed, they were tested (POSTI) to determine the effect of the programme, and two months (RTI) and nine months (RT2) later they were re-tested to determine the long term effect of the programme. The intervention programme consists of perceptual-motor, sensory integration and task-specific components. With regard to the first aim of the study, the results indicated that the intervention programme had a positive effect on two of the children, while no effect was noticed on the problems of one, and three of them regressed. The results indicated that with a little modification the intervention programme, based on an integration approach, could have a better effect. The results indicated that each child has different needs, and that the underlying problems might be a reason why the children reacted differently to intervention. However, fine motor manipulation skills increased on the short term, while balance skills showed a long term effect. Further research to determine the reasons of a child's problems, is recommended in order to establish the best method of intervention. With reference to the second and third aim of the study, the comparison of the children who improved (n = 2) with those who regressed (n = 3), indicated that those who regressed after the intervention programme, had more complex underlying sensory-neurological conditions. They also experienced more problems regarding fine motor manipulation skills as well as behaviour. They also showed poor bilateral integration, which was not the case with the other children. Further research concerning the role that bilateral co-ordination plays in DCD is recommended. From the results of this study, it is also recommended that intervention programmes should be conducted on an individual basis in order to assure that the focus is on the child's specific problems, and to ensure that the intervention has a positive effect. Proper assessment of underlying causes must be done in conjunction with the MABC testing, because this will help to determine the method that is selected for intervention. / Thesis (M.A. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Infants born prior to the term of 36 gestation weeks and 6 days are considered preterm infants. The number of preterm infants in Lithuania amounts to 5 – 6% per year. The most significant health problems of such infants in the neonate period are caused by immaturity of the organs and their systems. Knowledge of a preterm infant’s psychomotoric development contributes to early notification of disorders, more effective composition of problem-orientated corrective programs and monitoring of development progress. According to the reference literature, early application of physical therapy enables recovery of as much as 50 percent of infants and improvement of the condition of the rest. The goal of this thesis is to determine within which group: in the preterm infants (extremely preterm (born within 25-30 gestation week) or very preterm infants (born within 31-36 gestation week)), physical therapy has major effect for the emergence time of motor function. The objectives of the thesis are as follows: 1. Comparison of emergence time of motor functions with regard to extremely preterm and very preterm infants within the same stage of corrected age. 2. Comparison of motor development of the extremely preterm and very preterm infant groups and within each separate group considering the gender aspect. 3. Comparison of motor development alternation of the extremely preterm and very preterm infant groups and within each separate group considering the aspect of applied surgical treatment... [to full text]

Vaiko fizinė ir psichinė sveikata - šeimos ir visuomenės rūpestis medicininiais, socialiniais, psichologiniais aspektais. Optimalus kūdikio vystymasis reikalauja tam tikros aplinkos stimuliacijos, o tai ypač reikšminga, kai kūdikis turi gimdymo traumą, motorikos raidos sutrikimus ar įgimtą negalią. Darbo tikslas: nustatyti kūdikių sutrikusios motorinės raidos kaitą taikant kineziterapija. Uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti kūdikių, turinčių motorikos raidos sutrikimus, motorinio išsivystymo lygį pagal Miuncheno funkcinės raidos diagnostikos skalę. 2. Įvertinti kūdikių, turinčių motorikos raidos sutrikimus, motorinio išsivystymo lygį, po 18 kineziterapijos procedūrų. 3. Nustatyti kineziterapijos efektyvumą kūdikiams, turintiems skirtingus motorikos raidos sutrikimus: hipertoniją, hipotoniją. Darbe buvo naudoti tyrimo metodai: 1. Refleksų tyrimas. 2. Raumenų tonuso įvertinimas. 3. Motorinės raidos įvertinimas. 4. Matematinė statistika. Tyrimas buvo atliktas VŠĮ Šiaulių ligoninės Vaikų ligų klinikoje. Buvo pasirinkta 99 kūdikiai, turintys motorikos raidos sutrikimus: hipotoniją, hipertoniją, distoniją ir suskirstyti į 3 amžiaus grupes. Visų 99 kūdikių motorinė branda buvo tiriama ir vertinama prieš kineziterapija, jos eigoje ir pabaigoje. Jiems buvo atlikta 18 KT procedūrų. Gydymas truko vidutiniškai 2 mėnesius. Svarbiausios kokybinio tyrimo išvados: 1) Įvertinus, kūdikių motorinio išsivystymo lygį pagal Miuncheno funkcinės raidos diagnostikos skalę, nustatyta, kad jų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Physical and psychological health of an infant is a concern of a family and society from medical, sočiai, and psychological aspects. Optiniai development of an infant reąuires particular stimulation of environment and it is especially significant when an infant has a birth trauma, disorders of motor development or inborn disability. The aim of the work is to determine Change of infant's motor development when applying kinesiotherapy. The objectives: 1. To determine the level of motor development according to the scale of the Munich Functional Development Diagnostics. 2. To assess the level of motor development of the infants who have motor development disorder after 18 procedures of kinesiotherapy. 3. To determine effectiveness of kinesiotherapy for the infants who have different kinds of motor development disorders: hypertonia, hypotension, dystonia. The follovving methods have been employed in the work: 1. Research of reflexes. 2. Assessment of muscular tonicity. 3. Assessment of motor development. 4. Mathematical statistics. The research has been conducted in Public Institution Šiauliai Hospital Children Diseases Clinic. 99 infants have been chosen at random who have motor development disorders: hypertonia, hypotension, and they have been divided into 3 age groups. Motor maturity of all 99 infants have been examined and assessed before kinesiotherapy, in the course of kinesiotherapy, and at the end of it. 18 CT procedures have been performed for them. Treatment has been... [to full text]

It appears from the literature that the mastery of motor skills is essential for the optimal development of young school beginners' cognitive, perceptual, sport-specific and emotional skills. Researchers agree that the optimal development and mastering of motor skills occurs during specific sensitive periods in each child's life, and this is why it is important that children are provided with appropriate opportunities to develop these skills. The conditions in which a child grows up appear to be a significant factor influencing motor development during childhood. Environmental factors such as socio-economic conditions seem to play a role in the development of young children 's motor skills . Literature suggests that poor motor development generally occurs among children with insufficient areas for playing, and results from low socio-economic conditions in which the parents have a low income and limited resources. A large percentage of South African children are exposed to low socio-economic conditions that may consequently affect their development. The objectives of this study therefore were to determine the effect of socio-economic conditions on the motor- and object-control skills of Grade 1-learners. Eight hundred and sixteen (N=816) (+0.39 sd) Grade 1-learners with an average age of 6.8 years from 20 different schools in the North West Province, representing five different school types (quintile 1 (low) to quintile 5 (high), participated in the study. The short form (SF) of the "Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency" 2nd edition (BOT-2) (Bruininks & Bruininks, 2005), as well as several subscales (strength and agility and balance) of the longer form (LF) were used to evaluate gross and fine motor development and divide learners into various categories of mastering. The “Test of Gross Motor Development” 2nd edition (TGMD-2), was used to evaluate object control skills and divide subjects into various mastered categories. The data was analyzed by means of analysis of variance correlation coefficients using the "Statistica for Windows" (Statsoft, 2012) program. The results were adjusted for height and age. Two-way frequency tables and cross-tabulations were also used to analyze the data. With regards to objective 1 , the resluts showed that learners from quintile 4 and 5 schools, representing schools from higher socio-economic conditions, scored significantly better than quintile 1 to 3 schools in six sub-items (fine motor precision, fine motor integration, manual dexterity, bilateral coordination, strength and upper limb coordination) of the BOT-2 (SF) (p<0.05) while no differences were found in the LF subscales. Quintile 4 and 5 schools also received significantly better (p<0.05) scores in the SF standard score and percentiles of the BOT-2. The results indicate d> that the motor proficiency of learners from higher socio-economic conditions were better than those of learners from lower socio-economic conditions. With regards to the second objective of the study, the analysis of the results indicated that quintile 5 schools performed significantly better (p<0.05) in throwing, hitting, dribbling, and catching than quintile 1 to 3 schools, while quintile 1 and 3 schools performed significantly better (p≤0.05) in the kicking skill. Quintile 4 and 5 schools also fared significantly better (p<0.05) in the object control standard score than quintile 1 to 3 schools. The group's age equivalent, according to the TGMD-2, was 5.5 years, and ranged from 5.1 years to 5.9 years, indicating a mean age difference of 1.3 years compared with the chronological age of the group. / MA (Kinderkinetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Controversy still exists among researchers with regard to the most effective intervention methods and the success thereof regarding DCD children. This condition is known to have different underlying causes, which can influence the success of intervention programmes. It is indicated in the literature that intervention of motor difficulties early in the life of the child, can improve motor development and academic achievement and thus contribute to the total wellness of these children. The aims of this study was, firstly, to determine the effect of an intervention programme based on an integrated approach, on 9 to 12 year old farm labourer children with DCD. The data was analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, t-testing as well as effect sizes to determine practical significance. A second aim was to determine the relation between underlying sensory-neurological problems and the measure of success reached with the intervention programme. This data was mainly analysed with descriptive statistics and in a qualitative manner. The third aim was to determine the relation between fine motor manipulation skills and behaviour characteristics as assessed by the teacher and the measure of success reached with an intervention programme. This data was also analysed by means of descriptive data and in a qualitative manner. The sample of the investigation, on a farm in the North-West Province, consists of children of farm workers between the ages of 4 and 12 years (n = 36) who were evaluated according to the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) test (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) to determine their DCD status. Eight children (5 girls and 3 boys) were classified with DCD. One girl was identified in the 9 to 10 year old group, and 5 boys and 2 girls (n = 7) were in the 1 l to 12 year old group. These children were also evaluated on the "Sensory-Neurological Screening test" (Auxter et al., 2001), the ''Qwck Neurological Screening test" (Mutti et al., 1978), and the "Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor proficiency" (Bruininks, 1978) in order to determine the possible underlying causes of their problems on which the content of the intervention programme was based. The MABC Checklist (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) was used to determine the children's fine motor manipulation skills as well as their behaviour characteristics as assessed by their teachers. The children were tested eight weeks prior to (PREI), and again just before the programme started (PRE2) in order to determine the effect of maturation. Immediately after the intervention programme of 8 weeks, twice a week for 45 minutes was completed, they were tested (POSTI) to determine the effect of the programme, and two months (RTI) and nine months (RT2) later they were re-tested to determine the long term effect of the programme. The intervention programme consists of perceptual-motor, sensory integration and task-specific components. With regard to the first aim of the study, the results indicated that the intervention programme had a positive effect on two of the children, while no effect was noticed on the problems of one, and three of them regressed. The results indicated that with a little modification the intervention programme, based on an integration approach, could have a better effect. The results indicated that each child has different needs, and that the underlying problems might be a reason why the children reacted differently to intervention. However, fine motor manipulation skills increased on the short term, while balance skills showed a long term effect. Further research to determine the reasons of a child's problems, is recommended in order to establish the best method of intervention. With reference to the second and third aim of the study, the comparison of the children who improved (n = 2) with those who regressed (n = 3), indicated that those who regressed after the intervention programme, had more complex underlying sensory-neurological conditions. They also experienced more problems regarding fine motor manipulation skills as well as behaviour. They also showed poor bilateral integration, which was not the case with the other children. Further research concerning the role that bilateral co-ordination plays in DCD is recommended. From the results of this study, it is also recommended that intervention programmes should be conducted on an individual basis in order to assure that the focus is on the child's specific problems, and to ensure that the intervention has a positive effect. Proper assessment of underlying causes must be done in conjunction with the MABC testing, because this will help to determine the method that is selected for intervention. / Thesis (M.A. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

As early as 1994, and with transformation in mind, the African National Congress (ANC) identified the development of the previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa as a national priority. In so doing, sport, among others, was used in this strategy as a medium to improve and change the circumstances of people in disadvantaged communities. Sports development in disadvantaged communities is essential, if taken into consideration that without such further support of the sport talent of some of these children, the needs of these talented children cannot be met and their potential will remain undeveloped. Talent identification (TID), which is based on scientific principles and forms the first step in sports development, still is relatively new in South Africa. Historically, coaches used their own knowledge and experience of the characteristics, which should lead to success in sport as well as participation in competitions in order to do TID. To date, very little research has been done on talent identification and development in sprints and long-jump, especially pertaining to young boy and girl athletes, and in particular concerning athletes from disadvantaged communities. The first and second objectives of this study were to implement sport specific athletics development programmes aimed at improving sprinting and long-jump ability and to determine its effect on the abilities and skills of talented 10 to 15 year-old girls and boys with talent for sprints and long-jump. The third and fourth objectives of this study were to establish which kinanthropometric, physical and motor components will play such a role in 10 to 15 year-olds that it can predict performance ability in sprints and long-jump in girls and boys at this age. The "Australian Talent Search" protocol was used to identify general sport talent in the children (66 girls and 62 boys) who were identified for the study. The talented children (19 girls and 21 boys) from the initial group of were then subjected to a sport specific test battery for sprints and long-jump. The maturation level of the boys was determined by means of a maturity questionnaire, based on the 5 Tanner stages. By using the Statistica and SAS computer programmes, independent t-testing, covariance analyses, correlation coefficients, effect sizes, descriptive statistics as well as a stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data with regard to the above-mentioned objectives. A p-value smaller than or equal to 0.05 was accepted as significant. From the results of the study it is evident that the development programmes contributed to the improvement of physical and motor abilities and skills important for performance in both sprints and long-jump in girls (n=19) and boys (n=21) respectively. Among the girls, flexibility, explosive power, muscle endurance, reaction time, speed, speed endurance, acceleration and long-jump showed statistically significant improvement, while abdominal muscle strength and stride length showed no improvement. Secondly, it was established that the development programme contributed statistically significantly to an improvement in flexibility, muscle endurance, 0-40 metres speed and long-jump ability in boys. However, some components did not show improvement, among them explosive power, reaction time, speed endurance, acceleration and stride length. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the third and fourth objectives. It indicated that, in respect to the 100 metres sprint, 7 variables, namely long-jump, push-ups to the point of exhaustion, 7-level abdominal strength, 0-5 metres speed, ankle dorsiflexion, body length and age contributed 84.0% to the total variance in girls. As for long-jump, 7 variables, namely 0-100 metres speed, body length, 7-level abdominal strength, push-ups, ankle dorsiflexion, standing long-jump and body mass proved to be the most important contributors to performance in these items with a total contribution of 79% to the total variance. The fourth objective indicated that average anaerobic power output, acceleration and body mass contributed statistically significantly to performance in the 100 metres sprint in boys with a contribution of 86.5% to the total variance. Horizontal jump, age and acceleration contributed statistically significantly to long-jump performance with a contribution of 81 5% to the total variance. It is evident from this study that sport specific development programmes can successfully be implemented on girls and boys at ages 10-15 in order to improve sprinting and long-jump ability, regardless of poverty-stricken circumstances and poor infrastructure. Furthermore, the study brought to light that specific kinanthropometric, physical and motor abilities exist which can be used to predict performance in sprints and long-jump in girls and boys separately at ages 10 to 15. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007