Chapter 7
HELPING YOUNG CHILDREN DEVELOP MOTOR AND SELF-HELP
SKILLS
OUTLINE
I. The Development of Motor Skills
A. Sequential Trends of Motor Development
B. Helping Parents Understand
II. Atypcial Motor Development
A. Problems in Muscle Development
III. Assessment of Motor Abilities
A. Infants and Toddlers
B. Severe Motor Impairments
C. General Considerations for Assessment of All Young Children
D. Play-based assessment
IV. Therapeutic Intervention
A. Role of Therapists
B. Approaches to Therapy
V. Development of Adaptive Behavior Skills
A. Use of Task Analysis
B. Dressing
C. Toileting
D. Feeding
VI. Adapting the Environment
A. The Classroom or Center
B. The Home
VII. Summary
VIII. Discussion and Activities
ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS AND VOCABULARY
Adaptive behavior (skills)
Adaptive equipment
Athetoid movement patterns
Fluctuating muscle tone
Forward chaining
Functional independence
Gross motor skills
Handedness
Handling
Hyperactivity
Hyperresponsiveness
Hypertonia
Hyporesponsiveness
Hypotonicity
Positioning
Prosthesis
Proximo-distal pattern
Quadriplegia
Reverse chaining
TEST QUESTIONS – CHAPTER 7
Multiple Choice
1. If you were asked to prepare a lesson involving the development of fine motor skills, which of
the following would not be considered?
a. Pasting colored strips of paper together
b. Following the movement of a penlight
c. Kicking a ball toward a target
d. Assembling a wooden puzzle
2. How does a child who experiences tactile defensiveness react to being touched?
a. The child feels self-conscious
b. The child feels happy
c. The child feels in danger
d. The child feels pain
3. If you were asked to prepare a lesson involving the development of gross motor skills, which
of the following would not be considered?
a. Outlining with stencils or templates
b. Walking on a balance beam
c. Throwing a ball to a partner
d. Playing “Simon Says”
4. Hand dominance is often not achieved until the age of
a. 4 years
b. 5 years
c. 6 years
d. 7 years
5. A useful technique to employ when teaching self-help skills is
a. Reverse chaining
b. Behavior modification
c. Concrete reinforcement
d. Shaping
6. The fact that children increasingly learn to eliminate unnecessary body movement
demonstrates which of the following basic principles of growth?
a. Bilateral to unilateral development
b. Gross motor to fine motor development
c. Proximo-distal growth
d. Maximum to minimum muscle involvement
7. The most useful way to assess motor skills primarily involves
a. Norm-referenced tests
b. Criterion-referenced tests
c. Observation
d. Standardized tests
8. The rate and quality of physical and motor development are influenced most by
a. Age and environmental factors
b. Physiological maturation and environmental factors
c. Age and internal motivation
d. Internal motivation and physiological maturation
9. The pattern of voluntary movement that begins in the shoulder, then moves on to the elbow
area, wrist, and finally the fingers is called the
a. Proximo-distal pattern
b. Mass-to-specific pattern
c. Bilateral-to-unilateral pattern
d. Maximum-to-minimum muscle-involvement pattern
10. Another word for “spasticity” as a motor disability is
a. Athetosis
b. Hypotonic
c. Hypertonic
d. Floppy
True-False
1. In the preschool years, girls appear to perform better on fine motor tasks while boys tend to
be more adept at large motor tasks.
2. If a child has a significant motor disability he or she is highly likely to have a cognitive deficit
as well.
3. Apgar scores indicate the intelligence levels of newborns.
4. Research reveals a significant relationship between visual-perceptual training and improved
academic performance.
5. A hypotonic child is often called a “floppy” child.
6. Motor development follows a highly predictable sequential and overlapping pattern.
7. Growth and development tend to proceed from the outer extremities to the spine.
8. The focus of therapeutic intervention has shifted from developmental goals to functional
independence.
9. Creating en route objectives are not necessary to prevent children from experiencing failure.
10. Physical therapists are usually concerned with large muscle movement while occupational
therapists are more often involved with fine motor function and activities of daily living.
Short Answer
1. Children who fear being touched are said to experience tactile defensiveness.
2. The two general categories into which motor skills are usually divided are gross motor skills
and fine motor skills.
3. The most common motor disability among children of all ages is cerebral palsy.
4. In task analysis, when the last part of the task is done first, it is called reverse chaining.
5. A newborn’s Apgar score may run from a low of 0 to a high of 10.
Comprehensive Essay
1. Describe three playground activities that you could use with young children in the informal
evaluation of their motor skills. Be specific in stating exactly what a teacher should observe and
what can be learned about the children being observed.
2. Identify four observable behaviors which might indicate problems in motor development.
3. What are some of the ways in which atypical motor development will influence what a child
can and cannot do in the center? Select two or three adaptations that will have to be made and
discuss them.
4. Define “sensory integration.” What happens when there is dysfunction in sensory integration?
5. Identify four observable behaviors that might indicate problems in sensory integration.
6. Identify four guidelines to keep in mind when handling a child with disabilities with the goal
of normalizing muscle tone and facilitating movement.
7. Compare and contrast developmental motor goals and functional motor goals.
8. Compose five steps of reverse chaining for the task of washing hands.
9. Identify at least three activities that involve gross motor skills and at least three activities that
involve fine motor skills.
CHAPTER SEVEN – ANSWER KEY