Using a continuous tracking task, the authors examined whether stopping is resistant to expectancies as well as whether it is a representative measure of response control. Participants controlled the speed of a moving marker by continuously adjusting their response force. Participants stopped their ongoing tracking in response to auditory signals…

Neurological examination of children includes the screening for soft neurological signs (NSS). There is little knowledge about their evolution during adolescence, except that their lasting presence has been associated with developmental, psychological, and cognitive disorders. We report the results of a NSS exam (assessing gross and fine motor…

Concludes that guided instruction in psychomotor skills at the nursery school level leads to significant improvements in motor patterns for boys and girls. (RB)

The effectiveness and theoretical validity of Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT), based on neuromotor development among nonhandicapped infants and young children, was investigated across seven cerebral palsied, severely handicapped children, ages 2 1/2 to 12 years. Results indicated that training had a statistically significant effect for four…

Relationships between motor and speech development and between speech and cognitive development are considered. Discussion first focuses on issues of motility, speech, and cognition. Brief descriptions of Steiner's postulated six additional senses--of warmth, movement, life, speech or word, thought, and ego--are provided as preparation to the…

An adaptive physical education program was implemented for two special classes of educable mentally retarded children, grades K-3 in California. Children from a regular kindergarten class also participated in the program. The program operated for 5 months, with children receiving motor skills training 40 minutes per day, 4 days per week. Analysis…

In this study of the visual placing response (an extension of the paws or arms on approach to a visual surface), infants extended their arms almost as much to a gray surface as to a patterned one. (Author/CS)

Identifies those error items on the Bender-Gestalt Test which tend to discriminate over age and identifies those items which do not discriminate beyond certain ages. (RB)

The author briefly surveys early psychomotor development in children, the process of separation-individualization during the first three years of life, and the effect that early experience may have on subsequent actual physical movement. The studies of Jean Piaget and Margaret Mahler provide a framework for examining the notions of space…

Research supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grant MH-6415.

An early intervention program for 14 Down's syndrome children (4 to 15 months old) and their parents included individualized guidance for parents in teaching their infant. Home activities centered on tasks to develop attention: cognitive, perceptual, motor, and language skills. Emphasis was placed on a structured teaching approach with…

Desk and chair activities for use with handicapped and nonhandicapped elementary children in the classroom are described. The activities require minimal equipment while providing opportunities for vigorous physical movement. Activities are discussed which feature using the aisles between desks, sitting at the desks, and performing circuit and…