Research over the past three decades has shown that early intervention in infants biologically at risk of developmental disorders, irrespective of the presence of a brain lesion, is associated with improved cognitive development in early childhood without affecting motor development. However, at present it is unknown whether early intervention is…

Early identification of possible risk factors that could impair the motor development is crucial, since poor motor performance may have long-term negative consequences for a child's overall development. The aim of the current study was the examination of disorders in motor coordination in Greek pre-school aged children and the detection of…

Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have higher rates of obesity compared to children with typical motor development, and, as a result may be at increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome (MetS). The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of MetS and its components among children with and without DCD. This…

In this study the psychometric properties of the Trunk Control Measurement Scale (TCMS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) were examined. Twenty-six children with spastic CP (mean age 11 years 3 months, range 8-15 years; Gross Motor Function Classification System level I n = 11, level II n = 5, level III n = 10) were included in this study. To…

In this paper, we contrast the early childhood education and care aims and curriculum in Norway and Australia and the theoretical underpinnings of Norwegian and Australian pedagogy in an attempt to partially explain the different approaches to (risky) outdoor play in these two countries. We argue that Norwegian pedagogical approaches may allow…

Purpose: This study examined the effect of manipulating several parameters of motor learning theory on participants' phonetic acquisition and retention of utterances in a foreign language (Korean). Method: Thirty-two native English-speaking participants naive to the Korean language were each given 10 Korean sentences to practice and learn. The…

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the authors wanted to examine the associations of motor proficiency and body composition in children with and without dyslexia. They hypothesized there would be a negative relationship between body composition (measured by body mass index [BMI]) and motor proficiency (measured by MABC [Movement…

Increased concern about the low levels of literacy and numeracy among Grade 3 learners in South Africa is resulting in more emphasis being placed on the preparatory Grade R year. The level of learning readiness of pupils when entering formal teaching in Grade 1 is determined by perceptual motor stimulation that pupils received during the preschool…

Study aim: To assess the engagement of students of Warsaw university schools in sports and in recreational motor activities. Material and methods: A cohort (n = 1100) of students attending B.S. or M.S. courses at 6 university schools in Warsaw were studied by applying questionnaire techniques. The questions pertained to participation in…

The goal of a positive youth development perspective is the promotion of healthy physical and psychosocial development in young people. This approach consists of social-contextual features (e.g., teacher behaviors, classroom structure, student activities) that help equip youth with attributes, skills, competencies, and values that will contribute…

Purpose: This study explores the importance of production frequency during speech therapy to determine whether more practice of speech targets leads to increased performance within a treatment session, as well as to motor learning, in the form of generalization to untrained words. Method: Two children with childhood apraxia of speech were treated…

Aim: Gross motor performance appears to be impaired in children with psychiatric disorders but little is known about which skill domains are affected in each disorder, nor about possible accompanying deficits in physical fitness. The present study has sought to provide information about these issues in children with emotional, behavioural, and…

The present study compared the gross motor skills of 7- to 12-year-old children with learning disabilities (n = 104) with those of age-matched typically developing children (n = 104) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Additionally, the specific relationships between subsets of gross motor skills and academic performance in reading,…

This paper examines the influence of age of immersion and proficiency in a second language on speech movement consistency in both a first and a second language. Ten monolingual speakers of English and 20 Bengali-English bilinguals (10 with low L2 proficiency and 10 with high L2 proficiency) participated. Lip movement variability was assessed based…

Using structural equation modeling to investigate the multiple pathways of sleeping position and children's early development at six-, eighteen- and thirty-six-month children, with parental demographics and child health status controlled. The participants consisted of 1783 six-month children, who were assessed using the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study…