Typical Development: 18 months to 6 years Flashcards
To develop gross motor skills, but does a child need to be able to do?
- Balance with significantly reduced stability limits (less support, narrower BOS)
- Maintain anti-gravity strength
- Steadily increase coordination between muscle groups
- Utilise intact sensory systems and cognition
- Anticipatory postural control
What developments change gait with age?
- Increasing extensor muscle strength to support the body’s weight on a single limb BOS
- Development of dynamic balance with decreasing co-contractions for stability
- Improved postural control in the form of anticipatory and integrative postural adjustments
- Biomechanical changes
What are the characteristics of gait in a 9-15 month old?
- Wide base of support with abducted hips
- Slight hip and knee flexion
- COM closer to head and upper trunk
- Lateral stability is greater than AP
- Loses balance if head moves outside BOS
- Arms in high guard position to lock trunk extension
- Response to the momentum to keep balance
- Short stride, increased cadence
- Full foot contact
- Relative foot drop in swing phase
- Significant co-contraction
What are the characteristics of gait in 18-24 month olds?
- Decreasing BOS (in line with pelvis)
- COM descends
- Hip extension strengthening increases with mild hip extension during end of stance phase
- Single leg stance become stable
- Consistent heel strike in conjunction with knee extension
- Increased velocity, increased stride length
- Decreased co-contraction
What are the gait characteristics associated with 3-5 year olds?
- Descending COM
- Heel strike present with knee flexion in early stance
- Velocity normalised
- Decreasing cadence
- Reciprocal arm swing
What are the gait characteristics associated with 6-7 year olds?
- COM slightly higher than an adult (L3 vs sacrum)
- Decreasing cadence
- Period of disequilibrium due to disproportionate growth
What are the gross motor skills?
- Running, jumping, hopping, leaping
- Galloping, skipping, sliding
- Ball skills: catching, throwing, kicking, striking
What systems are involved in postural control?
Interaction of neural sensory (visual, vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile), motor and musculoskeletal systems
What is the role of anticipatory postural control?
Acts to minimise the potential disturbance that may arise from initiating and completing a movement.
What are protective/parachute reactions?
Drop of limbs to protect when ‘dropped’ quickly
When do forward, lateral and backward fall protection reactions develop?
Forward fall protection: 6 months
- Lateral: 8 months
- Backwards: 10 months
What are the standardised assessments used to assess motor skills in children?
- Peabody Developmental Motor Scales 2 (PDMS 2)
- Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT 2)
- Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 (MABC-2)
What does the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales assess and what age group is it used for?
Gross and fine motor skills from 1 to 72 months of age
What does the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency assess and what age and population is it used for?
- Assesses gross and fine motor skills in children aged 4.5 to 14.5 years of age
- Designed for use with typical and atypical (disabled) populations
What specific areas does the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency?
- Running speed and agility
- Balance
- Bilateral coordination
- Strength
- Upper limb coordination
- Response speed
- Visual motor control
- Upper limb speed and dexterity