MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
WHAT IS MOTOR DEVELOPMENT?
Motor developmentrefers to
thedevelopmentof a child's bones,
muscles and ability to move around and
manipulate his or her environment.
Motor developmentcan be divided
into two sections: grossmotor
developmentand finemotor
development.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
I N I N FA N C Y
INFANCY
Reflexes: earliest movements can be elicited in new born
infants, it is also the involuntary actions triggered by
external stimuli
Pathological Reflexes indicate the possibility of some kind
of irregular neural function.
Examples:
1. Rooting reflex
2. Moro reflex
3. Palmar reflex
4. Plantar/ Babinski reflex
5. Tonic Neck reflex
6. Swimming reflex
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
7. Doll-eye movements
Common to premature babies and occurs during
the first days of life
If the infants head is tipped forward, the eyes will
tend to look upward and if the head is held
backward, the eyes will look down ward the chin.
In normal infants, this reflex is quickly replaced
soon after birth with voluntary eye movements
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
8. Righting Reflexes of the Head and Body
The head will turn the same direction as hips are
turned, same way when the head is moved, the
hips will turn in the same direction
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
9. The Labyrinthine Righting Reflex
The attempt of an infant to look upward on its
stomach. Later the head is aided by the
supportive reaction of the arms.
More common during the middle of first year but
first seen in 2nd month after birth
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
10. Supporting Reactions of Arms and Legs
The human infant at about 4 months will react
when brought towards surfaces by reflexively
extending the arms, indicating a readiness to
support himself.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
11. Pull-up Reaction of the Arms
Occurs several months after birth
If held upright by either hand and tipped off to
one side or the other, the infant will tend to flex
the appropriate arm and try to resume the
original upright position.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
12. The Walking Reflex
About 58% of infants on the 2nd week after birth,
they will walk if held in an upright position with
their feet permitted to touch a level of horizontal
surface.
Involves a distinct lift but does not involve other
body parts. They can also climb stairs while
supported in this manner and also be walk upside
down.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
13. The Crawling Reflex
If the infant is placed face down on a surface and
pressureis alternatively applied to the bottoms of
the feet, he/she will perform a crawling pattern
with the upper and lower limbs.
Leads to voluntary creeping
OTHER EXAMPLES OF REFLEX
14. Climbing Movements
This reflex resembles later the voluntary attempts
to move in a horizontal plane, which manifest a
reflex similar to vertical climbing.
THE PHASING OUT OF REFLEXES AND THE PHASING
IN OF VOLUNTARY MOVEMENT
Gross Motor Skills
Involves the large muscle of the
body and include locomotor
function such as sitting upright,
walking and kicking. It depends
on the tone and strength of the
muscles. (Upton, 2011)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Voluntary, Independent Locomotion
1. Creeping
Occurs when the infant has been allowed to
remain in a front lying position for prolonged
periods of time.
2. Crawling
Begins to develop after the creeping
The first attempts are resulted from a bent-elbow
posture, with feet drawn up under the hips
Moves in a contralateral extremities
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
3. Sliding
Some infants develop an unusual method of locomotion involving
a slide forward in a seated position using the hills with which to
dig in.
4. Standing up
This movement is the results of the aggregated reflexes and
locomotor movements.
Steps:
Back-lying position
By turning his/her head to its stomach (front-lying position)
He/she begins to reach for objects and bring the feet under the
body
Sitting position
Standing up by hanging onto things (e.g. furniture)
Proceeds walking
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
5. Upright gait
Early attempts: wide stances, feet turned
outward, knees are slightly flexed
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Motor skills advance in definite sequence
*norms
Distinct pattern (cephalocaudal and
proximodistal)
Individual variation (2-4 mos.) is common without
being atypical
Environmental factors influence the timing of
m.s.d., not genetic influence
Modern theories on m.s.d. emphasize the
interaction between nature and nurture
DYNAMIC SYSTEMS THEORY
Constructivist approach
Both nature and nurture influence m.s.d.
Childs active role in own m.s.d.
At first, motor skills are reliant on innate reflexes, gradually the reflexes
are reorganized into new and more complex actions
Initial motor behaviors are likely to be tentative, disjointed and
coordinated
However, they are progressively modified and refined until the
components fir together, resulting in smooth, well-coordinated action
systems
Development is seen as a self-organizing system
Infant is driven by curiosity, motivating them for locomotion
Improving physical strength, increases in neurological connections,
sensory stimuli and parenting behaviors all play a role in motor skill
development
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Involves small muscles of the
body that enable functions such
as grasping and manipulating
small objects. Writing, drawing
and fastening clothing rely upon
motor skills. (Upton, 2011)
FINE MOTOR SKILLS (3-5 MONTHS)
Childs ability to reach out and manipulate objects
changes significantly over the first year of life
Voluntary reaching and grasping usually develops at 3
months
Prior to this, uncoordinated swipes that rarely result in
the capture of the objects
Capacity for interaction with the environment
At 4-5 months, palmar reflex is replaced by ulnar grasp,
the voluntary transferring of objects from hand to
hand. It is clumsy and claw like
It eventually develops into the pincer grasp which is far
superior and comes with the development of dexterity
REFERENCES
Cratty, Bryant J., Perceptual and Motor
Development in Infants and Children 2nd Edition,
Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewoods Cliffs, New Jersey
07632, 1979
Upton, Penney. , Upton, Dominic., Critical Thinking
in Psychology: Developmental Psychology,
Learning Matters Ltd., 2011
MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
IN CHILDHOOD
EARLY CHILDHOOD (2-3 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Stop toddling and
develop a smoother gait in
walking
Develops ability to run,
jump, and hop
Can participate in throwing
and catching games with
larger balls
Can push themselves
around with their feet while
sitting on a riding toy.
Can build towers out of
blocks and mold clay into
rough shapes
Can turn the pages of a book
Can scribble with a crayon or
pen (random scribbling at
age 2 and controlled
scribbling at age 3)
Often begin showing a
preference for using one
hand more often than the
other
HANDEDNESS (HAND PREFERENCE)
Seems to have a strong genetic basis
Studies have shown that adopted childrens
handedness is related to their biological (not their
adoptive) parents handedness
Prenatal ultrasound scans show that most fetuses
show a preference of their right hand in sucking
their thumbs
This strongly suggests that hand preference
develops before sociocultural influences can have
effect
* Ambidexterity can be developed through
practice
HANDEDNESS (HAND PREFERENCE)
Right hand preference dominates in most cultures at a
ratio of approximately 9:1
Handedness is traditionally though to have been strongly
linked to brain organization (right handed, left sphere
language dominant; left handed, right sphere language
dominant)
90 % of right handed people are left sphere language
dominant, however, so are more than 50% of left handed
people
According to Knecht et al. (2000), left handedness is
neither a precursor nor a necessary consequence of right
hemisphere language dominance
However, left handedness does increase the likelihood of
right hemisphere dominance for language processing
HANDEDNESS (HAND PREFERENCE)
Left handedness is often seen in artistic and
creative individuals such as musicians and artists
Famous left handed artists include: Michaelangelo,
Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Lewis Carroll,
and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Left handed people tend to have exceptional
visual-spatial skills
They also have a tendency to score higher on
intelligence tests
However, they are also more likely to have reading
problems than right handed people, which might
be related to the way they process language.
EARLY CHILDHOOD (3-4 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Can climb up stairs using a
method of bringing both feet
together on each step before
proceeding to the next step
However, young children may
still need some "back-up"
assistance to prevent falls in
case they become unsteady in
this new skill.
Will be stumped when it's
time to go back down the
stairs; they tend to turn
around and scoot down the
stairs backwards.
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Start to manipulate
clothing fasteners, like
zippers and buttons
Continue to gain
independence in
dressing and
undressing themselves.
Can also begin using
scissors to cut paper
(not very well).
EARLY CHILDHOOD (3-4 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Can jump and hop
higher as their leg
muscles grow stronger.
Many can even hop on
one foot for short
periods of time.
Begins skipping
Riding, steering and
pedaling a tricycle
Continue to refine their
eating skills and can
use utensils like forks
and spoons
Can also use larger
writing instruments,
like fat crayons, in a
writing hold rather than
just grasping them with
their fist.
EARLY CHILDHOOD (3-4 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Develop better upper
body mobility. As a
result, their catching
and throwing abilities
improve in speed and
accuracy.
Can also kick a larger
ball placed directly in
front of their bodies.
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Can also use a
twisting motion with
their hands, useful for
opening door knobs or
twisting lids off
containers.
EARLY CHILDHOOD (4-5 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Can go up and down the
stairs alone in the adult
fashion (i.e., taking one step
at a time).
Running continues to smooth
out and increase in speed.
Can skip better and add spin
to their throws.
Have more control when
riding their tricycles (or
bicycles), and can drive them
faster.
Continue to refine fine motor
skills and build upon earlier
skills.
Can button and unbutton
their clothes by themselves.
Artistic skills improve, and
they can draw simple stick
figures and copy shapes such
as circles, squares, and large
letters. Drawing more
complex shapes, however,
may take longer.
KELLOGGS (1970) FOUR STAGES OF
CHILDRENS DRAWINGS
KELLOGGS (1970) FOUR STAGES OF
CHILDRENS DRAWINGS
EARLY CHILDHOOD (5-7 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Continue to refine earlier skills.
Running even faster and can start
to ride bicycles with training
wheels for added stability.
Can step sideways.
Begin mastering new forms of
physical play such as the jungle
gym, and begin to use the seesaw, slide, and swing on their
own.
Often start jumping rope, skating,
hitting balls with bats, and so on.
Begin to show the skills
necessary for starting or
succeeding in school,
such as printing letters
and numbers and
creating shapes such as
triangles.
Able to use paints,
pencils and crayons with
better control.
EARLY CHILDHOOD (5-7 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Enjoy learning to play
organized sports such as
soccer, basketball, or
swimming
Often like to participate in
physical extracurricular
activities such as karate,
gymnastics, or dance.
* Children continue to refine
and improve their gross motor
skills through age 7 and
beyond.
Can also complete other
self-care tasks beyond
dressing and
undressing, such as
brushing their teeth and
combing their hair.
Can also independently
feed themselves without
an adult's immediate
supervision or help.
MIDDLE-LATE CHILDHOOD (7-12 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Continue to build on and
improve gross motor skills;
the large-scale body
movement skills such as
walking and running that they
first learned during earlier
developmental stages.
In general, boys develop
these skills slightly faster than
do girls, except for skills
involving balance and precise
movements such as skipping,
jumping and hopping.
Continue to hone their fine
motor skills which can be
distinguish from gross
motor skills in that they
require hand-eye
coordination.
In contrast to how gross
motor skills develop, girls
tend to develop fine motor
skills slightly faster than
do boys.
MIDDLE-LATE CHILDHOOD (7-12 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Run faster than
previously possible
Can also jump higher
and farther
No two children will
develop physical skills
in exactly the same
pattern or time frame.
Show dramatic
improvements with
regard to their printed
handwriting and
ability to write in
cursive letters (e.g.,
"script" forms of
handwriting).
MIDDLE-LATE CHILDHOOD (7-12 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Refine their control over gross
motor skills, learning to
master where they hop, skip,
throw, and jump. They are
able to gain this improved
control and coordination due
to increases in their flexibility
(e.g., their range of
movement in joints and
muscles), balance, and agility
(e.g., their ability to change
their body's position, which
requires a combination of
balance, coordination, speed,
reflexes, and strength)
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Develop the ability to draw
complex and detailed
pictures that for the first
time begin to incorporate
depth cues (i.e., such as
drawing farther away objects
smaller) and 3D elements.
Often, children's artistic
ability can truly begin to
shine during this stage as
improved fine motor skills
and imagination combine.
MIDDLE-LATE CHILDHOOD (7-12 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Learn how to synchronize
the movement of their
body's various parts,
allowing for the
development of smoother,
more coordinated wholebody movement routines
such as are needed for
participating in organized
sports (e.g., throwing a
football, batting a baseball,
or dribbling a basketball).
Learn how to use their hands
to successfully accomplish
manual activities other than
drawing or writing.
Become capable of
executing complex detailoriented craft projects
(beading, sewing, scrap
booking, building models,
and good at using simple
tools such a hammer or a
hand mixer)
MIDDLE-LATE CHILDHOOD (7-12 YEARS)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Due to their progress
with regard to the
growth and maturity
of motor, cognitive,
and social skills, many
children will now
become capable and
competitive
participants on sports
teams.
Learning to touch type
becomes a serious
possibility at this time.
Commonly become
quite skillful at playing
complicated games
involving hand-eye
coordination, including
video and computer
games.
REFERENCES
http://
[Link]/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=1
2755&cn=462
http://
[Link]/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc
&id=37676&cn=1272
Dacey, John S. (2009). Human development
across the lifespan. New York : McGraw-Hill Higher
Education
Upton, P. and Upton, D. (2011). Critical Thinking
in Psychology: Developmental Psychology,
Learning Matters Ltd.
MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
I N A D U LT H O O D
Motor Development
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Motor skills that involve large-muscle
activities (milestones achieved)
Infancy
Development of posture
Locomotion and crawling
Learning to walk
Help of caregivers important;
cultural variation exists
More skilled and mobile in second
year
Motor Development
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Childhood
Improved walking, running, jumping,
climbing, learn organized sports skills
Positive and negative sport outcomes
Movement smoother with age
Adolescence - Skills continue to improve
Adulthood
Peak performance of most sports before 30
Biological functions decline with age
Motor Development
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Involves more finely tuned movements, such as finger
dexterity.
Infancy: Reaching and grasping
Size and shape of object matters
Experience affects perceptions and vision
Early Childhood: Pick up small objects
Some difficulty building towers
Age 5: hand, arm, fingers move together
Motor Development
FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Childhood and adolescence:
Writing and drawing skills emerge, improve
Steadier at age 7; more precise movements
By 10-12, can do quality crafts, master difficult
piece on musical instrument
Adulthood:
Speed may decline in middle and late adulthood, but
most use compensation strategies
Older adults can still learn new motor tasks
PHASE
AGE
Reflex
Rude
STAGE
Prenatal
Birth
6 month
Infancy
2 years
6 years
12 years
18 years
Fund
Early Childhood
Sport
Late Childhood
Refine
Adolescence
Peak
Adulthood
30 years
Regression
Older Adulthood
70 years
From Gabbard, 1996
ADOLESCENCE PERIOD OF INTEGRATING MOTOR
SKILLS (15-20 YEARS)
As adolescents continue to mature they become
better able to move their bodies with greater skill
and precision.
Gross and fine motor skills improve continuously
during adolescence. Adolescents can do more
complex and strenuous activities compare when
they were in their middle childhood.
BEYOND INFANCY: MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN
CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
Boys and girls are nearly equal in physical abilities
until puberty, when boys continue to post gains on
tests of large-muscle activities, whereas girls level off
or decline.
Biological developments do not account for all the
difference in large-muscle performance between boys
and girls; nor do they adequately explain the
declining performance of girls, who continue to grow
taller and heavier, between ages 12 and 17.
Jacqueline Herkowitz (1978) believes that the
apparent physical decline of adolescent girls is a
product of gender-role socialization.
ADULTHOOD
Early adulthood : forming working motor
skills,climax of sports activity, stage of motor
performance culmination with majority of
sportspeople
Middle adulthood:stage of stabilized
efficiency,gymnastic activity decreases, it is
replaced by healthy walks of lower intensity
Late adulthood:stage of decreased motor
efficiency, the repertory of locomotive skills
decreases, period of balancing.
Old age
Motor condition: motor abilities regress more
dramatically (mainly with speed abilities), less
dramatic regression of static-power abilities,
endurance abilities decrease by approx. 50 %;
such decrease, however, can be positively
influenced by training (70-year old marathoners),
length of step shortens (up to 1/4), bad arm
coordination, extreme leg raising, axis shift.
MOVEMENT IN ADULTHOOD
Upright static balance is maintained by postural swaying.
Postural swaying deteriorates gradually and by the time we are
80 years of age our ability to maintain static upright balance is
like a 6 year old child.
Postural sway increases with age.
Poor vision increases postural sway and decreases balance.
Incident of fall is related to postural sway and static balance.
Half of elderly who fall and break a bone never regain functional
walking.
Men seem to experience a greater mortality rate from falling that
females.
Falls are due to a deterioration of balance associated with walking
Walking speed is slower because they adopt a
conservative pattern of walking to prevent falling.
Adopting a slower pace reduces strength in lower
limbs.
Stride length decreases with greater tendency to
toe-out to improve lateral stability.
Greater flexion of the hip when taking a stride with
less ankle extension at the end of stance phase in
walking which reduces stride length.
Step height decreases.
MOVEMENT SPEED IN ADULTHOOD
Welford(1982) found:
Spatial transpositions (simple reaction time situations)
develop early in life and resist decline where as
symbolic translations (choice and discriminate reaction
time situations) decline.
Threshold of excitation of the muscles decline.
Sense organs and loss of brain cells reduced signal
levels which causes slower motor movements.
Aged is willing to sacrifice speed of movement for
accuracy and therefore more cautious.
THATS IT. THANK YOU.
Aging is inevitable but the process is very
variable. Thus, the key is to experience a slow
rate of aging.
References:
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FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Tone
- Ongoing contraction and state of the
muscle at rest.
- Can be normal, hypotonic or
hypertonic
- Cerebral palsy
FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Strength
-The force of a muscle contraction
purposefully exerted against resistance to
carry out an activity
Endurance
- The ability to maintain the exertion
required for an activity
-Involves many factors such as muscle
tone and strength, heart and lung
function, and motivation
FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Balance
- The delicate interaction of equilibrium(or
vestibular) centers in the brain with sensory
input
- Sensory input includes vision, body-position
awareness, and muscle strength and tone.
- These factors all work together to allow your
child to maintain an upright posture and to
move between positions needed for activities
such as sitting, crawling, walking, and
reaching
FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Motor Planning
- The complex, and often intuitive,
ability to know how to carry out the
steps needed to complete a physical
activity
- Motor planning requires the
coordination of the systems that
regulate perception, sequencing,
speed, and intensity of movements
FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Sensory Integration
- The ability to accurately interpret sensory
input from the environment and to
produce an appropriate motor response
- Children may have a different threshold
for responding to sensory input
- They may exhibit a reduced (under
stimulation) or heightened (over
stimulation) response to sensory
information
FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Environmental
-
Living conditions
Parental involvement
Educational experiences
Growth
Cultural
- Typical American children roll over at 3
months, sit at 6 months and walk at 12
months
- Genetic makeup
FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Social
- Personality, self-perception and selfmotivation, gender
- Albert Bandura: children who believe they can
acquire new skills are more likely to try harder
when challenged, less likely to become
discouraged and more likely to positively react
to learning experiences. However, children
who view their abilities as a reflection of their
aptitude tend to have a negative reaction
when they have trouble mastering a skill.
FACTORS AFFECTING MOTOR SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
Diseases
- Cerebral palsy
- Down syndrome
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Dyspraxia
REFERENCES
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