EDKP 261: Early Motor Development

Fundamental Motor Patterns:

(1-7y/o) *Proficient Stage (5-7y/o) *Emerging elementary stages *Initial stage *precontrol stage

Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex:

*Appears right after the asymmetric tonic neck reflex* Important for crawling Infant starts in supported sitting position - Stimulus: Extend the head and neck or flex the head and neck - Response: Armas extend and legs flex, or arms flex and legs extend (respectively)

Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex:

*First reflex that you have* prenatal to 4 months -Infant starts in supine position -Stimulus: turn head to one side -Response: ipsilateral arm and leg extend; contralateral flex This is important to stop the rolling movement so you don't roll to your face (breathing).

Moro Reflex:

*Important reflex to keep balance* Infant starts in supine position - Stimulus: shake head (by tapping pillow) - Response: Arms legs and fingers extend, then arms and legs flex

Parachute Reflex: (Postural reaction)

*Infant is help upright* Stimulus: Lower infant toward ground rapidly Response: Legs and arms extend

Labyrinthine Righting reflex: (Postural reaction)

*Infant is supported upright* Stimulus: Tilt infant Response: Head moves to stay upright

Derotative righting: (Postural reaction)

*Infant starts in supine position* Stimulus: Turn head to one side, or turn legs and pelvis to other side Response: Body follows head in rotation or trunk and head follow in rotation

Purpose of reflexes:

- Build in responses facilitate survival - allow dialogue with environment - result in sensory consequences (adaptation) - provide building blocks for future movements - bind neurological network to use if we need them Explained with structural (Reflect the CNS) functional (to help us survive) and applied (future movement) purposes.

Motor Milestones:

- Pathway to voluntary movement - Specific movements that lead to general actions - Fundamental motor skill that is a building block leading to complex motor skills - cumulative and sequential

Appearance and disappearance of reflexes:

- Primitive reflexes disappear at 2 weeks - Adaption of the reflexes to modify movement outcome (faster sucking leads to faster supply of milk) - Reappearance of the reflex is indicating neurological disorder - disappearance is due to disuse

Development of postural control and balance in infancy:

- Rate limiters for posture and balance appear to involve coupling of sensory and motor response. A child depends on visual cues coupled with sensory information

Importance of stereotypies:

- Seen in Autism - Acerbated by stress - If these stereotypic movements continue to occur after the age of 2, we are concerned about secondary etiologies such as: autistic spectrum disorder, mental retardation and sensory deprivation

Palmer Grasping Reflex:

- Stimulus: Touch palm with finger or object - Response: Hand closes tightly around finger or object

Voluntary movements and change in individual constraints:

- maturation of the CNS - development of muscular strength and endurance - development of posture and balance - improvement of sensory processing

3 categories of infantile reflexes:

1. Primitive reflexes 2. Postural reaction 3. Locomotor reflexes

Differences between reflexes and spontaneous movement:

1. Reflexes are responses to specific external stimuli, whereas spontaneous movements do not result from any stimuli 2. Reflexive movements are specific and often localized, whereas spontaneous movements tend to be non specific and generalized 3. The same stimulus will elicit a specific reflex over and over again

Model of Clark in relation to life long motor development:

1. Reflexive period: Birth-2 weeks 2. Preadapted period: 2 weeks-1y/o 3. Fundamental Motor Patterns: 1y/o-7y/o 4. Context-specific motor skills: 7-11y/o 5. Skillfulness: 11y/o +

Relationship between spontaneous movements and future development:

1. Supine kicking and walking 2. Spontaneous arm movements and reaching 3. Head and face (head banging) 4. Fingers (flexion) 5. Hand flapping or waving

Why is mobility important for infants?

1. exploration of the environment is linked to mobility: children begin creeping, crawling and walking 2. Beginning of independence and increase of new perceptions 3. Environmental factors will shape the CNS

Skillfulness

11 + *Lifelong utilization stage *Application stage

Locomotor and posture motor milestones:

2 months: Lifts head in prone position 3 months: lifts shoulders and turns head 5 months: rolls over, sits unsupported 7 months: gets on hands and knees 8 months: creeps on hands and knees 9 months: pulls to stand; cruises furniture 10 months: stands alone 12 months: walks alone

Preadapted period:

2 weeks - 1 y/o *Reflex inhibition stage

Context-specific Motor Skills:

7-11y/o *Transitional Stage*

Locomotor reflexes:

Appears similar and related to a voluntary movement. Appear earlier than the corresponding voluntary behaviors and typically disappear months before the infant attempts the voluntary movement. Include: Stepping, swimming and crawling reflexes

Reflexive Period:

Birth to 2 weeks *Information decoding/encoding stage

Stepping Reflex: (locomotor reflexes)

Child held upright - Stimulus: Place soles of feet on flat surface - Response: Legs move in walking pattern *Birth to 5 months

Motor development in newborns:

Exhibit reflexive and spontaneous movements. As they move into toddler years they reach milestones and have more refined gross movements. Gain ability to: - lift up their heads - sit up - stand with minimal support

The moving room technique:

Have child stationary, move walls and ceiling. Visual system: tells us that we are moving Kinesthetic system: indicate the body is not moving *Conflicting Messages* 2 month-old reacted to visual information rather than kinesthetic information. Activated muscles to regain their starting posture Diminishes after 1st year of standing In this, the rate controlling aspect is the COUPLING if the sensory information with the appropriate motor response.

Rate limiters in motor milestones:

Individual constraints can act as rate limiters or controllers. ex) The strength of your neck can act as a rate limiter in being able to lift your head Motor milestones themselves can be rate limiters ex) lifting your head can act as a rate limiter in crawling

Developmental limitations associated to mobility limitations:

Not all children are mobile. Children with mobility limitations have been show to also demonstrate limitation in: - cognition - attention - spatial awareness - visual perception - postural responses - social and emotional development

Postural reactions/gravity reflexes:

Responses keep the head upright (keeping breathing passages open), help the infant roll of over and eventually attain a vertical position. - Generally appear after the infant is 2 months - overridden by voluntary movements at 18 months. Come back when an individual is unexpectedly thrown off balance - Help maintain posture in changing environment - Initially similar to reflexes, then incorporated into general practice

Spontaneous kicking (resemble adult walking)

Similarities: - When laid on back infant will thrust his legs. - The kicking was not random, but rhythmical and had coordination patterns (Ankle, knee, hip moved together) - Coordination of kicks resemble adult walking pattern - Will alternate kicking legs Differences: - variable kick timing - joint move in unison rather than in sequence *Co-contraction: activate both flexors and extensors at the same time. Adults move by alternating flexor and extensor muscles.

Reflexive movement: (Clark 1995)

Stereotypical responses elicited by specific external stimuli - Reflexive movements occurs quickly after onset of stimuli - involve single muscle or specific group of muscles (not the whole body) - cannot be extinguished - persistence may indicate neurological problems - at times can only occur when infant is in a specific position

Doll eye reflex: (primitive reflex)

Stimulus: flex head Response: Eyes look up

Deviations from normal reflexes:

Timing of reflexes is often used to signal a problem. Infant may: - Exhibit a reflex when the individual should not. - Not exhibit a reflex when the individual should

Spontaneous movement: (Clark 1995)

movements not caused by known external stimuli *Also termed stereotypies - Patterned and periodic - Originally thought to be extraneous, with no purpose - current theory believes these are building blocks similar to some adult voluntary movements - should disappear after 24 months

Assessing motor milestones:

observation guide. need to standardize: 1. preterm: infants who are very preterm and very low birth weight are at risk for poor developmental outcomes 2. the brain tissues most susceptible to injury includes the fragile area surrounding the ventricles 3. Presence of motivation or stress deprived environment (caregiver)

Ecological perspective on early motor dev:

the interplay of many systems (cognitive, perceptual, motor) leads to the movement adaptations seen in infancy