Three experiments examined vision's role in infants' grasping of horizontally and vertically oriented rods. Found that infants differentially oriented their hand regardless of lighting and similar to control conditions where they could see rod and hand throughout reach. Findings suggest that infants may use current sight of object's orientation or…

Previous research with both brain-damaged and neurologically intact populations has demonstrated that the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) is superior to the left cerebral hemisphere (LH) at detecting anomalies (or incongruities) in objects (Ramachandran, 1995; Smith, Tays, Dixon, & Bulman-Fleming, 2002). The current research assesses whether the RH…

The purpose of this "Reading Aid" is to help teachers and other school personnel responsible for selecting readiness programs to evaluate those programs they are considering for selection. The programs reviewed here represent a cross-section of the many language and perceptual readiness programs available. The assumption underlying each of these…

The paper suggests that the use of a single visual-motor test, (here, the Winter Haven Perceptual Forms Test) as a screening device for visual-motor difficulties in the first grade is questionable. (Author)

Eighteen science activities that help children learn to use their senses are described. Multisensory activities and single-sensory activities are provided. Each activity includes a list of materials, the procedure, information for the teacher, questions, and a vocabulary list of words often used by children to describe what is taking place. (KR)

Observing actions and understanding sentences about actions activates corresponding motor processes in the observer-comprehender. In 5 experiments, the authors addressed 2 novel questions regarding language-based motor resonance. The 1st question asks whether visual motion that is associated with an action produces motor resonance in sentence…

Graphomotor output was assessed in children with attentional problems using the Repeated Patterns Test (RPT). Forty-eight subjects, ages 8 to 13, who met standard criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), participated, of whom 24 had primarily Inattentive Type and 24 had Combined Type ADHD. Both groups had intact visuomotor…

Perceptual-motor functioning is a cyclic process involving: (1) organizing incoming sensory stimuli with past or stored perceptual information; (2) making motor (internal) decisions based on the combination of sensory (present) and perceptual (past) information; (3) executing the actual movement (observable act) itself; and (4) evaluating the act…

The experimental program in visual-motor-perceptual training in Ramapo Central School District No. 1, Suffern, New York, was used as a guideline to prepare a detailed description of specific activities and exercises to be used by administrators and teachers. In the program, 80 visual-motor-perceptual handicapped children in first, second, and…

Three experiments explored 5- and 7-month-olds' intermodal coordination of proprioceptive information produced by leg movements and visual movement information specifying these same motions. Results suggested that coordination of visual and proprioceptive inputs is constrained by infants' information processing of the displays and have…

Literature is reviewed which discusses the role of proprioceptors in basic perceptual and motoric functions. The author cites research on the functions of the muscle spindles in controlling muscles which in turn provide energy, stimulation, and activation of the central nervous system. Research on the relation of motor functions to language…