No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

The purpose of this study was to provide a description of the physical performance of a group of slow learning children who participated in a perceptual-motor program and to observe the effects of special training in motor skills on the visual perception and motor capacity of each child. Eight subjects, ranging in age from six to nine years, were selected to participate in the study. Each subject was referred to the program because of a diagnosis of retarded perceptual-motor development. The subjects were given pre-training standardized tests in General Motor Capacity and Visual Perception. They then received approximately fifty minutes of daily instruction in motor skills for a total of sixty-five days. At the conclusion of the special training period, the subjects were once again tested in general motor capacity and visual perception. The scores on the initial and final tests in motor capacity and perceptual ability were compared and the differences were recorded. A case study was conducted on each subject in order to obtain as much information as possible on each individual participating in the program. Information was obtained from medical and school records, psychologist and teacher reports, and the detailed observations of the investigator. The results indicated that difficulties in differentiation, balance and coordination appeared to be characteristic of the child having inadequate perceptual-motor development. A comparison of pre- and post-training test results showed that an improvement in motor capacity and visual perception occurred in all the subjects. Marked improvements were also observed in the children's behavior and attitude. From the findings of this study it appears that a special motor training program is a major contributor to the overall rehabilitation of the perceptually-motor handicapped child. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

To understand the grasping abnormalities in Parkinson's or stroke patients, normal grasping must be examined, and whether that normality is determined by biological factors or experiential influence must also be considered. The purpose of this thesis is to determine what normal variations of precision grasping exist in healthy, normal adults, children and elderly people. Using Eshkol-Wachmann Movement Notation, five types of contact strategies were interpolated, based on the digit that contacts the object first, and whether that digit dragged or stabilized the object for grasping. Each contact strategy was associated with an ideal graphical representation of the thumb and index finger velocities. There were seven variations of purchase patterns, based on the digits used to contact the objects, and four variations of postures of the non-grasping digits on top of the five contact strategies. Object size affected purchase pattern preference: smaller objects elicited the pincer grasp more than the larger objects. The purchase pattern distribution of variation is similar in adults and children, although children exhibit an extra purchase pattern, and older adults exhibit less variation purchase patterns. The findings from this thesis suggest that central factors, such as gender and handedness, as well as external factors, such as size of the object, determine individual preference of grasping. The loss of variation with age can be attributed to the developing corticospinal tract in children as well as the deterioration of normal hand function in the elderly. / ix, 116 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

No description available.

Tests of sensory and motor function are widely used by clinicians and researchers in neurology, psychiatry, and neuropsychology. Less than perfect performance on many of these tests may be considered pathognomonic of central nervous system dysfunction. Unfortunately, differences across practitioners in specific test selection, administration procedures, and scoring criteria have resulted in inconsistencies which confound attempts to study the incidence and patterns of deficits (Adams & Victor, 1993; Glick, 1993). Although as a group psychologists favor standardized, quantitative instruments, the field has lacked a comprehensive, standardized sensory and motor battery. That psychologists have not developed such a battery may reflect the notion that pathognomonic signs are ambiguous and unstable (Buchanan & Heinrichs, 1989) and the fact that some traditional test development procedures are often inappropriate.For the Dean-Woodcock Sensory and Motor Battery, Dean and Woodcock (1994) selected measures representative of those included in the traditional neurological examination.Measures of subcortical function, unavailable in the major neuropsychological batteries, were included to allow differentiation with right hemisphere impairment.Using standard procedures for administration and scoring, this study gathered preliminary data regarding the incidence of pathognomonic signs in a normal adult population, identified items with difficulty levels likely to result in overidentification of abnormality, and estimated the interrater agreement and interrater reliability for items and tests most vulnerable to subjective interpretation. Data analysis reflected consideration of Franzen's (1989) argument that reliability can be better understood through use of multiple estimation strategies and Cicchetti's argument that data needs to be considered at "finer levels of molecular analysis" (p.621). In addition to investigating interrater agreement, this study applied generalizability theory which allows for simultaneous estimation of the relative proportion of variance contributed by multiple sources and their interactions.Results suggested adequate to excellent rater agreement and reliability (i.e., generalizability). Also, with minor modification of specific items, generalizability of items may be expected to increase. Future studies should sample from a more heterogenous general population and specific clinical populations. / Department of Educational Leadership

M.Sc. (Research Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability among children. Children diagnosed with bilateral cerebral palsy (BCP) have limited mobility and hand use due to a neurological insult in utero or during the first year of life, resulting in hypertonicity or uncontrolled movements which impede upon optimal performance and participation in daily life. Although occupational therapists evaluate and provide interventions throughout a child’s development, only two validated assessment tools exist for children with BCP: Melbourne Assessment 2 and Both Hands Assessment, and ABILHAND-Kids questionnaire. The purpose of this study was to (a) develop an observational tool to evaluate upper extremity functioning in children with BCP during everyday tasks, and (b) determine the tool’s content validity, preliminary inter-rater reliability, and internal consistency. The Hand-object Observation Tool (HOOT) was developed, standardized, and evaluated for content validity via expert review and feedback regarding relevance for children with BCP. Following pilot administration to three children and content validation by expert clinicians (n = 8), the HOOT was administered to six children diagnosed with BCP, GMFCS III, IV, and V. Three licensed occupational therapists and the primary investigator observed and scored video-recordings of the administration. Cohen’s kappa was used to determine inter-rater reliability among three pairs of clinician raters and the gold standard. Internal consistency of items was analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The content of the HOOT is consistent with expert opinions and the Content Validity Index results met criteria for retaining items. This study further suggests that HOOT scores are reliable indicators of upper extremity functioning in children with BCP. Rater agreement between occupational therapy raters and the gold standard was almost perfect when scoring hand-object interaction (touch, grasp, transport, manipulate, place, and release). Rater agreement was substantial to almost perfect for hand use and poor to almost perfect for maintenance of posture during tasks. Further research is required to (a) gather additional data from trained clinicians administering the HOOT in community-based settings to more than 30 children with BCP, and (b) analyze scores and performance to determine internal consistency of HOOT items and complete tool refinement and dissemination.