Individual Differences in Movement Development

1
Lecture 6

• Individual Differences in Movement Development

2
Review Week 5

• Normative development in manipulative movements
• Sources of individual variation
• Fine motor movements ( e.g. grasp-release),
  movements against resistance ( e.g. lift), and
  receipt-propulsion(e.g. catch-throw)

3
Objectives Week 6

• Awareness of the implications of major motor and
  sensory challenges for movement
• Awareness of minor variations in development, and
  their effect on apparent development or ability
• Introduction to adaptions to movement programs
  catering for diverse development

4
Major Areas of Variation

• MOTOR
• Central nervous system challenges (e.g.cerebral
  palsy, spina bifida)
• Skeletal challenges (e.g. absent
  limbs,osteogenesis imperfecta)

• SENSORY
• Low visual acuity, lazy eye,blindness
• Hearing impairment
• Extreme sensitivity or low sensitivity to
  tactile, kinesthetic etc sensory information

5
Motor Challenges

• CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
• Cerebral palsy e.g. spasticity,athetosis
• Muscular dystrophy
• Spina bifida
• Head or spinal cord injury

6
Motor Challenges, continued

• SKELETAL
• Amputation or absent limbs
• Osteogenesis imperfecta
• Correctable orthopedic impairments

7
Minor Gross Motor Variations

• Delayed or accelerated development
• Low motor tone and reduced strength
• Differences between body sides
• Chronic health conditions
• Motor control e.g. posture,coordination
• Motor planning challenges

8
Minor Fine Motor Variations

• Theories about retained reflexes
• Immature development
• Accelerated development
• Low motor tone , extreme fatigue, motor planning,
  motor control
• Intention tremor
• Facial motor control

9
Experience 1 Try out and Discuss

• Experience for yourself the challenge of picking
  up objects if your hands have tremor or are
  flexed move jerkily
• Consider adaptions which could be made to
  materials to assist you in using them
• Discuss assistance others could give you to
  ensure you feel successful

10
Experience 1 Feedback

• How did you feel trying out movements with these
  challenges? How do you think this would influence
  you each day?
• Did you think some ideas for younger children
  would be suitable, or not?
• What changes and assistance appeared practical
  and would not offend the person?

11
Sensory Challenges

• Visual acuity, lazy eye, squint, tunnel vision,
  nystagmus, photophobia
• Sensory-neural and conductive hearing loss,
  intermittent.
• Sensitivity variations

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Minor Sensory Variations

• Unsteady balance and earthbound
• Wide variability within individual child
• Tactile defensiveness
• Midline stopping
• Form reversals
• Eye hand coordination variations

13
Experience 2 Try Out and Discuss

• Close your eyes until you can see just a little,
  then try to draw or write. Note the influence on
  your skill and feelings.
• Start a drawing using one hand, but draw only on
  that side of the page. Then swap hands, and draw
  on the other side of the page. Stop at the
  midline each time.

14
Experience 2 Feedback

• How did you find the reduced visual acuity
  influenced you? What was the feeling?
• What was the effect of midline stopping on the
  flow of your drawing?
• What did you think may have helped you in feeling
  more successful?

15
Adaptions to Support Children

• PRACTICAL
• Environment changes e.g.space,equipment
• Communication /other specialised equipment
• Assistive technologies
• Computer adaptions

• ADULT SUPPORT
• Handling/positioning
• Observation to note when child needs you
• Suit plan to childs actual development
• Subtle assistance

16
Dealing with the Feeling

• A child is a child, not a disability
• Sensitive support
• Child frustration
• Other childrens responses
• Adult embarrassment

17
Remember Usual Sources of Individual Variation

• Child health and emotional wellbeing
• Individual child disposition, special interest
• Experience child has at offered at home
• Cultural attitudes of families
• Availability of services and facilities for range
  of experiences in community

18
Planning for the Individual Child

• Observe the individual childs development in
  each movement area. There might be considerable
  variation within the individual
• Reflect on sources of individual variation you
  may need to take into account
• Plan for the next step taking the childs own
  circumstances into account

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Key Attitudes of Early Childhood Educators

• The child is not being fixed up i.e. you are
  NOT remediating deficits, you are working from
  their current competency
• The child is NOT defined by their challenge i.e.
  the individual is considered first, not the
  challenge they face in movement
• All children present variations

20
Overall Teaching Approach

• Normative sequences ( travel maps) provide a
  frame for assessing current competency and
  planning for childs next step (zpd)
• Modifications to usual experiences and materials
  can be made by trying them as the child does, or
  observing childs actual use