Evaluated role of visual input during reaching and grasping. Found that both infants and adults completed a reach and grasp to a darkened object but used vision when object remained visible. Infants contacted the object more often when it remained visible, although with longer durations and more movement units. Adults reached faster and more…

Over the past decade, cognitive approaches with children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have been investigated. Although studies have focused on intervention outcomes, few have documented the components of the approach that support the enhancement of children's performance. This study used systematic observation of videotaped…

Compared parental perceptions of the use of internal information sources--intuitions, religious beliefs, personal childhood experiences--to use of external sources for information about their toddlers' development. Found that parents perceived the internal sources as being used more frequently and as more useful for information on their child's…

Objective: To study familial and nonfamilial environmental influences on attention problems and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in monozygotic twins discordant and concordant-high and low for these traits. Method: Ninety-five twin pairs from The Netherlands Twin Register were selected. Longitudinal survey data were collected at 1,…

A comparative study was made of mentally retarded and nonhandicapped children in the first through third grades on motor performance as measured by running (50-yard dash), jumping (standing broad jump), and throwing (softball throw for distance). The subjects had received all of their physical education instruction in a mainstream setting since…

The frequencies of consistent, mixed, and inconsistent lateral preference patterns in 648 elementary school age children were examined. No differences were found in IQ, reading, arithmetic, or spelling achievement scores among the three groups of children, at any age or for either sex. (Author)

Two experiments examined problem solving in 16-month-olds' adaptive locomotion (crossing bridges of varying width with/without handrail). Findings indicated that toddlers attempted wide bridges more than narrow ones. Attempts on narrow bridges depended on handrail presence. Toddlers had longer latencies, examined bridge/handrail more closely, and…

This study reports various aspects of the analyses carried out on the longitudinal data reported in a previous study (PS 007 345) for determining the general growth patterns and growth velocity of mental and motor development. Preliminary analyses focused on the selection of the growth curve, its evaluation in the 208 individual cases, and the…

Compared effectiveness of modeling from a clinician to that of written instructions to train parents to use a motor stimulation program with their infants with Down syndrome. Obtained motor development quotients prior to the program and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Found that infants of parents trained by modeling obtained higher motor…

Early intervention approaches for facilitating motor development in infants and children with Down syndrome have traditionally emphasised the acquisition of motor milestones. As increasing evidence suggests that motor milestones have limited predictive power for long-term motor outcomes, researchers have shifted their focus to understanding the…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a creative movement program on gross motor skills of preschool children. Sixty children between the ages of 3 to 5 were drawn from the population of a preschool in Taichung, Taiwan. An experimental pretest-posttest control-group design was utilized. The children enrolled in the…

Results of comprehensive needs assessments conducted in 1980 and 1988 were compared relative to appropriate physical education for handicapped students as mandated by PL 94-142. A direct, self-report methodology was used covering various dimensions of teacher needs. Although there was a significant improvement of the teachers who had served on a…

Discussing psychology for Africa, particularly rural Kenya, this paper presented two implications for the country and people interested in its affairs. First, although urbanization and "Westernization" are perhaps the most salient aspects of modern Africa, there is little understanding of how family relationships and child care are…