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Podcast on Pediatric Variability
Physical Therapy has just posted a new podcast entitled Variability in Childhood Development. Several researchers discuss the importance of variability in normal child development. The podcast is approximately 26 minutes long. You can download it for free at Physical Therapy podcasts. I just finished listening to it and the researchers bring up some good points […]
Walking and Social Interactions
Infant Behavior and Development published interesting research on walking and social interactions. Research has already indicated that crawling is a motor as well as a cognitive milestone. In this study there were three experiments and the results were the following: social and exploratory behaviors were the same in crawling infants whether crawling or in a […]
ADHD and Overflow Hand Movements
A recent study published in Neurology compared 25 boys and girls with ADHD and 25 boys and girls without ADHD. All of the children were right handed. They were asked to perform left handed finger tapping. Using video and a recording device measuring finger movements, the children with ADHD exhibited more mirror overflow movements with […]
Promoting Movement in the Classroom
Download this free brief entitled Learning to Move and Moving to Learn to distribute to teachers and parents. It is packed with tips and information on why movement is important and how to foster motor play in the curriculum. You can download it here or below. While you are at it, check out these videos […]
Executive Function
The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has published a paper entitled Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function. This paper provides an overview on executive function and how it develops in children. Executive functions include working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive or mental […]
Visual Motor Scores and Handwriting
Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics published research on the relationships between fine-motor, visual-motor, and visual perception scores and handwriting legibility and speed. Klein et. al. evaluated 99 third through sixth graders with learning or behavioral problems. Each child was assessed with the following: Upper-Limb Speed and Dexterity Subtest of the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor […]
Physical Activity Linked to Improved IQ and Math Scores in Kids
Health Psychology published research on a study of 171 overweight 7 to 11 year olds who participated in increased physical activity. The following results were seen in the children who participated in the vigorous exercise group : Increased brain activity in prefrontal cortex seen on MRI IQ scores increased by 3.8 points with 40 minutes […]
Kinesthetics and Handwriting
Pediatric Physical Therapy published interesting research comparing 8 children with proficient handwriting and 8 children with non proficient handwriting. All of the children did not have a history of motor or cognitive issues. Each child was tested for kinesthetic sensitivity, discriminate tactile awareness, diadochokinesia, stereognosis, and graphesthesia. Following statistical analysis, the two groups did show […]
Age Related Changes in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology published research on age related changes in 184 children (age range 4 -16 years old) with cerebral palsy. The children were initially evaluated with the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) and Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire – Cerebral Palsy (LAQ-CP) and again 2 years and 7 […]
Play Activities for Children with Disabilities
The Alliance for Technology Access has a wonderful, free publication that you can download entitled “We Can Play”. This is a 20 page document loaded with fun, adaptable ideas for children with disabilities. Topics include bike riding, accessible birthday party ideas, games for the car, cooking tips and more. Each topic is a one page […]