motor development and milestones

developmental time periods

•Infancy

• Birth to 2 years old

•Childhood

• 2 years old to adolescence

•Adolescence

• Puberty to adulthood 

•Adulthood

• Approx age 20 to 70 years

•Older adulthood

• 70 +

influence of cognition and motivation

Piaget theory of intelligence

Maslow’s hierarchy

Erikson’s 8 stages of development

Piaget theory of intelligence

Based on behavior responses of his own children

Four stages of cognitive development:

• sensorimotor → first two years of life; really critical for development of cognition

• preoperational →

• concrete operational →

• formal operational →

Does not represent the lifespan of intellectual development

Theories for the entire lifespan

Maslow: developed a hierarchy

• each higher level depends on mastering the one before

Erikson: later developed 8 stages of development

• believed that each stage of life a person would be confronted with a personal challenge

• each person will choose one or the other life stage option

• by making this choice, a person establishes his personality

theories of motor development

dynamic systems theory

• movement emerges from the interaction of multiple body systems

Neuronal group selection theory

• no motor programs

• neural plasticity

Developmental concepts

Epigenesis

directional concepts of motor development

• cephalic to caudal

• proximal to distal

general concepts in development

Dissociation

reciprocal interweaving

variation and variability

Three developmental processes

Growth

• inc in size

Maturation

• physical changes that automatically happen

Adaptation

• environmental influences can affect growth

What are motor milestones?

Every child should do motor tasks by a certain age (milestone)

Charts show percentiles of skill accomplishments

If milestone is not met by a certain time, it alerts practitioner that there may be a medical problem with the child

Developmental delay = not reaching a milestone by the upper range of normal

Motor milestone order of progression

head control

segmental rolling

sitting

creeping/cruising

walking

reaching, grasping, releasing

Five main categories

Gross motor skills

Fine motor skills

Language skills

Thinking skills

Social interaction

Motor skills: gross vs fine motor skills

Gross: overall movement of large muscles

Fine: involves small use of muscles of the hands

• ability to manipulate small objects

• eye-hand coordination

scooting

creeping vs crawling

Birth - 3 months

initial flexor tone

beginning head control; head to 45 deg in prone

4 months

head to 90 deg in prone

hand to midline

reaching

5 months

head movement into flexion in supine

dissociation of head and limbs

comparison of gross milestones for 2-6 months old

6 months

righting reactions

segmental rolling

transitional movements

grasping

7 months

unsupported sitting

lateral protective reactions

voluntary release of objects

8 months

creeping

increased UE strength

9 months

quadruped position

cruising

12 months

ambulation

hips and knees in flexion

16-18 months

arm swing/heel strike

balance reactions

2 years

kick a large ball

arm swing and heel strike w/ gait

true running

4 years

galloping

catch a small ball

6 years

stand on one foot for 10 seconds

developing sports skills

Changes with aging

asymmetrical → symmetrical → asymmetrical movements

Posture

•Cervical curve decreases

•Thoracic curve is kyphotic

•Lumbar curve flattens

Balance

•Sensory systems changes

•Larger sway in quiet standing due to dec vibration awareness

Gait in the older adult

•Cadence, velocity, and stride length decreases

•Step width increases to inc BOS

•Difficulty stepping over objects and climb stairs

Developmental motor scale

Peabody developmental motor scale

BOT 2

Peabody Developmental Motor Scale

Birth to 5 years old

Takes about 45-60 minutes

Composed of six subtests that measure interrelated motor abilities that develop early in life:

• Reflexes

• Stationary

• Locomotion

• Object manipulation

• Grasping

• Visual-motor integration

Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT 2)

Measures fine and gross motor skills

Ages 4-21 years old

Takes from 15-60 minutes depending on which test is done

Consists of eight subtests:

• four in the gross-motor area (Bilateral Coordination, Balance, Running Speed, and Agility, Strength)

• four in the fine-motor area (Fine-Motor Precision, Fine-Motor Integration, Manual Dexterity, and Upper-Extremity Coordination).

Four composite scores are available, including Fine-Manual Control, Manual Coordination, Body Coordination, Strength/Agility, and Fine-Motor Coordination.