MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY Flashcards
Maturation - Arnold Gesell
- Motor development follows a genetic plan
- Discovered that infants and children develop motor skills in a fixed order and within specific time frames.
The Dynamic Systems View
According to the ____ , infants assemble motor skills for perceiving and acting.
- To develop motor skills, infants must perceive something in the environment that motivates them to act and use their perceptions to fine-tune their movements.
- Motor skills represent SOLUTIONS to the infant’s goal.
- MOTIVATION = creation of new motor behavior
- Infants MODULATE THEIR MOVEMENT PATTERNS to fit a new task by exploring and selecting possible configurations.
- MOTOR DEVELOPMENT is when the infant actively puts together a skill to achieve a goal within the constraints set by the infant’s body and environment.
Dynamic Systems Theory
Built in reactions to stimuli; they govern the newborn’s movement; automatic and beyond control.
- Rooting Reflex
- Sucking Reflex
- Moro Reflex “Startle reflex”
- Grasping Reflex
REFLEXES
Occurs when the infant’s cheek is stroked, or the side of the mouth is touched. The infant turns its head toward the side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to SUCK.
Disappears at 3-4 MONTHS OLD
Rooting Reflex
Occurs when newborns automatically suck an object placed in their mouths. This also serves as a self-soothing or self-regulating mechanism.
- Most had stopped by the AGE OF 1.
Sucking Reflex
When startled, the baby archies its back, throws back its head, and flings out its arms and legs. then the newborn rapidly closes its arms and legs; has SURVIVAL VALUE.
- Disappears at 3-4 MONTHS OLD
Moro Reflex “startled reflex”
Occurs when something touches the infant’s palms. The infant respond by grasping tightly.
-Disappears at 5-6 MONTHS
Grasping Reflex
Skills that involve large-muscle activities.
- The development of posture
- Learning to walk
Gross Motor Skills
Is a dynamic process that is linked with sensory information in the skin, joints and muscles.
Posture
- Posture
- 2 months: sit with support
- 6-7 months : sit independently
- 8-9 months: learning to pull themselves to a standing position with support
- 10-12 months: stand independently
The Development of Posture
- The key skills in learning to walk appear to be STABILIZING ON ONE LEG long enough to swing the other forward and shifting the weight without falling.
- When learning to walk, infants take SMALL STEPS due to their limited balance control and strength. Infants who take LARGE STEPS that exceed their leg length = increase balance and strength
- In learning to LOCOMOTE, infants learn what kinds of places and surfaces are safe for locomotion.
- PRACTICE is important in learning to walk.
Learning to Walk
Some infants may not follow the standard sequence of motor accomplishments.
TRUE
The timing of later milestone may vary by two to four months.
TRUE
- Toddlers become more motorically skilled and mobile.
-Motor development is vital to the child’s competent development, and few restrictions, except for safety, should be placed on their adventures. - 13 to 18 MONTHS : can pull a toy attached to a string and use their hands and legs to climb up a number of steps.
- 18 to 24 MONTHS: can walk quickly or run stiffly for a short distance, balance on their feet an a squat position, walk backwards without losing balance, stand and kick a ball without falling, stand and throw a ball, and jump in place.
Development in the 2nd Year
Involve finely tuned movements.
-4 MONTHS : cues from muscles, tendons, and joints, not sight of the limb, guide reaching; infants do not need to see their own hands to reach for an object.
- FIRST TWO YEARS : infants refine how they reach and grasp.
- Types of GRASP develop in infants:
1. Palmer grasp: grip with the whole hand
2. Pincer grasp: grasp with their thumb and forefinger
- PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR COUPLING is necessary for the infant to coordinate grasping.
* 4 MONTHS: rely on touch to determine how to grip an object
* 8 MONTHS: rely on vision as a guide. Vision lets infants preshape their hands as they reach for an object.
- Experience plays a role in reaching and grasping.
Fine Motor Skills
