An investigation into the effects of training programmes upon movement leading to dance with E.S.N.(S) children

The study is designed to test the capacity of E.S.N.(S) children to respond to and learn from programmes based on the teachings of Rudolf Laban. Some perceptual motor models have been selected and are discussed. The contribution of dance within the Physical Education Curriculum for E.S.N.(S) children is examined.

A pilot study was conducted in order to establish content and procedures. The experiment proper required the design of training programmes over an extended period. Thus, a pretest and post‐test design were used, each child being used as his own control. The sample was drawn from an E.S.N. (S) Hospital School in Northern England. Tests were given to establish base lines in physical performance. Weekly training sessions were planned and executed over two years with 30 ambulant retarded boys and girls, ages 7 to 18 years in three groups. A combination of acknowledged physical education tests and tests for exercise and rhythmic body response were administered.

Characteristically this approach consists of an individual analysis of each child's movement behavior and the application of multiple base line operations. Executing these skills is a matter of using these rules in a certain order. This programme focuses on the process of learning rather than product.

The use of videotape aided the analysis of the movement behavior and demonstrated the individual development and the structure of the training sessions. Improvements of motor skills are identified as a result of mental practice, task familiarity and the maturation of the learner. There are individual differences in subjects’ responses but these are not influenced significantly by age, verbal ability or sex variables. This study revealed that training programmes can lead to dance with E.S.N.(S) children.     

Integration: Quality in care and education for the young disabled child

The presentation aims to examine the criteria of quality for care and education programmes for young disabled children in integrated early childhood settings. The conceptual and practical issues which influence quality programmes will be discussed with particular reference to the Integration Programmes operated throughout South Australia in early childhood centres.

The Integration Programmes, developed to enable and support the integrated or normalised development of young children has as its specific 'target' group individual children who are 'too delayed or disabled' to be able to fully participate or participate without direct assistance in community based early childhood programmes. Some of these children are extremely disabled and others' handicapping conditions are exacerbated by severe lack of other available community resources, isolation and other factors.

Integration is more than 'being there'—it is a complex process based upon the recognition of human value and human rights. For greater insight into the Integration Programmes an appraisal of the following aspects will be provided.

• the principles of integration

• the goals of integration

• the dimensions of integration.

The dimensions of integration will be placed in relation to the indicators of quality in early childhood programmes. The juxtaposing of these parameters of quality will lead to the emergence of guidelines for practical goalsetting and evaluation hallmarks of excellence in integration.     

Building concepts, curriculum and confidence — an interactive preservice motor program

The preschool years are a time of increasing experimentation with a variety of motor tasks, and a period of gradual and progressive motordevelopment and learning. The development of proficiency in fundamental motor skills is one of the basic tasks of the preschool years.

(Malina, 1982:215.)

Parents and teachers should recognise the central role of movement experiences in the overall development of the young child and the many factors that can affect proficiency in motor activities .... different kinds of opportunities for movement exploration, discovery and practice should be provided.

(Seefeldt, 1980).     

Parental health and stress in families with a child who has multiple disabilities

The presence of a disabled child is known to increase family stress and parental ill-health. However, it is unclear the extent to which support services can alleviate this.

Families using two, short-break services - both residential and domiciliary - formed the study population (N = 68). Measures were taken using standardised instruments of children's development and maladaptive behaviours, parental stress, parental health and the supports that the families received from services, professionals and relatives and friends.

Significant proportions of these service users were stressed and had high levels of psychiatric morbidity. The sole predictor of stress was parental ill-health which in turn was linked with children who had higher scores on motor skills and the presence of other disabled dependants in the family. Families who were most stressed or in poorer health received no greater amounts of support.

The findings reinforced the complexity of disentangling the relationships between family needs and service supports. They also suggest that existing presumptions about more services reducing family stress are too simplistic. It is argued that the meaning of support for families needs to be critically reviewed along with an examination of the coping strategies used by families. This should result in better matching of support services to individual family needs.     

Too early to school?

This paper examines the dangers and problems inherent in the prevalent practice of introducing academic work into Nigeria Nursery School Curriculum.

The paper presents research data from the fields of developmental psychology and education, which establish that nursery school children are not developmen-tally ready for academic work. Similarly data on the objectives of nursery education are used to establish that nursery school is not an ideal setting for the teaching of academic skills as stated in the National Policy on Education.

The paper concludes with a number of proposals on how to develop a virile Nursery Education practice in Nigeria which provides adequately for the socio-cultural peculiarities in the lives of Nigerian Pre-School children.     

Vicarious learning of parents and early motor acquisition of Down's syndrome

This research was undertaken in order to study a new application of vicarious learning, and thereby ascertain whether subjects undergoing early motor training would benefit from this type of learning. To this end we started out from a fundamental premise: participation by the parents in the early motor training of their children. An experimental study was designed with a sample of 32 Down's syndrome according to two training groups. In the first the parents learned the motor training model vicariously from the clinician. In the second group the parents were taught through written instructions.

The results obtained establish statistically significant differences in favour of the vicariously taught group.     

“Missing Milestones”

Missing milestones are known to be a normal variant of development. The purpose of our study is to find if missing milestones always lead to normal development?

METHODS

This is a prospective case study on seven patients referred for motor developmental problems from July 1997 to February 1998 and then followed over a 2-year period. On each attendance, the multi-disciplinary team assessed children

RESULTS

We present a case series of seven children with “missing motor milestones”. Six of the seven, had tactile defensiveness but absent parachute reflexes on presentation

At the end of the two year period, 3 infants had normal development (Group I). One was discharged after 7 months. The second one had speech problems most likely secondary to her bilateral serous otitis media, with no other developmental problems. The third child acquired age appropriate milestones before the care was transferred to another hospital. Of the four in Group II, three developed global developmental delay and the fourth was diagnosed to have multiple cavernous haemangiomata in the brain. The pre-school alert panel was alerted for two of them possibly needing future help in school

Five of the seven children in our study were still being followed up after two years

CONCLUSIONS

Missing milestones in a subject can be a benign variation of normal motor development. However, they may also be the first sign to appear in children with neuro-developmental disorders

Tactile defensiveness may be the most useful early sign to enable the early diagnosis of non-weight bearing children with 'missing milestones'     

Motor skills of mild-malnourished compared with normal preschool Senegalese children

The relationship between motor skills and mild protein-energy malnutrition was studied in a rural Senegalese setting. Eighty-eight children in good health, aged between 3 and 5 years were examined on 3 occasions in the course of one year, and their physical performance and motor skills evaluated. Regular progress in their abilities was observed over the year. Nevertheless, 3#sh4 of them portrayed mild somatic deficiencies. After dividing the children into 4 nutritional groups according to their height-for-age and weight-for-height deficiencies, it was found that normal and thin children, scored higher in the various tests than did children who were underheight, or both underheight and underweight.

Insufficient muscular mass available for exercise seemed to be the principle factor limiting the performance of these mildly undernourished children. However, other hypotheses should be mentioned: reduction in the children's habitual physical activity, and the neuro-motor consequences resulting from former, severe malnutrition.

These observations show that even slight degree malnutrition can affect a child's ability to perform physical work and, thus, hinder his future development and learning.     

Modelling and early language acquisitions in Down's syndrome

The marked delay in language acquisition suffered by Down's syndrome children is undeniable. This study affirms that the cause of this deficit could be found in a different communicative environment, for which reason early intervention is essential.

A sample of 40 Down's syndrome babies was used whose parents were taught methods of communicative training with their children according to two models: a) modelling techniques, b) written instructions.

The results obtained establish statistically significant differences in favour of the vicariously taught group.     

Adult/child Interaction: How Patterns and Perceptions Can Influence Planning

Individual testing and assessment are often problematic with preschool-aged children. Difficulties include adverse reactions to test procedures, inconsistent performance on tests and unsuitable tests for 3, 4, and 5 year old children as well as the need for unobtrusive observation methods and data collection, so new ways of assessment need to be investigated.

This article examines alternative assessment strategies which Involve teachers, parent/caregivers and children in the process. As motor development is an essential part of child development, children's movement behaviour is the focus for assessment. An adult/child observation coding system with physical, social, cognitive and task dimensions has been developed and used in various early-education settings to identify patterns of interaction between adults and children from both the adult and the child's perspective. This is supplemented by structured interviews at regular intervals with a parent/caregiver to ascertain changes in children's behaviour and mode of interaction with use of a motor checklist to determine children's motor proficiency.

This multi-faceted approach has yielded useful results for teachers, parents/caregivers and children and has made the process meaningful for all parties. The results of this research have implications for teachers, parents and programs with regard to the role of adults in the education of young children and the role of movement and motor programs within child development and curriculum in early childhood education.     

A Culture in Transition: Poor Reading and Writing Ability Among Children in South African Townships

Recent international studies shows that South African pupils compare most unfavourable with other countries with regard to literacy and numeracy development. In the present study our aim was to determine the presence of early childhood developmental factors that might play a role in the subsequent poor performance of these children. Children between the ages of five and a half and seven years from six daycare facilities in the informal settlement of Temba (South Africa) were randomly chosen. From each daycare facility, five children were chosen by means of the lottery method. The home language of all of the children was Tswana, one of the 11 official languages in South Africa. The reading and writing readiness checklist was used to gain insight into the reading and writing readiness of the sample group. The test was developed to determine the literacy level of prospective school beginners.

Results indicate that these children are ill-prepared for formal education. They reveal inadequate literacy skill, poor sentence construction, poor sense of syntax, and inadequate sound development, and knowledge of the alphabet. They also reveal poor knowledge of sounds especially pertaining to prefixes and suffixes, transposition of sounds within words, and replacement of a sound within a word by another. These results point to a conglomerate pf factors, namely inadequate visual-motor integrative skills, poor visual analysis and synthesis, and poor fine motor development found in children who have been carried on their mothers' backs for excessively long periods (Pretorius et al. In Press). Additionally, they have also been inadequately exposured to mediated reading and writing experiences due to parental non-involvement.

Cultural strengths of these black disadvantaged children include adequate gestalt formation, enjoyment of and ability in visual arts, responsiveness to the concrete, expressiveness of gestures and body language, enjoyment of and ability to learn at hand of pictorial and symbolic representations. They also excel in storytelling and singing, and enjoyment of and ability in creative movement, dance, music, and rhythm should therefore be implemented as medium of instruction in the foundational phase.     

D.A.R.E.-ing to be Different? A Drug Prevention and Life Skills Education Programme for Primary Schools

This paper outlines the development and introduction of the D.A.R.E. programme, particularly in the United Kingdom and explores the added value of D.A.R.E. that can be identified from the point of view of children, schools, teachers and the local communities. It also considers the development of the programme in terms of curriculum review to optimise D.A.R.E. development in accordance with current best practice guidance.

The appropriateness and effectiveness of drug education in school is currently receiving significant national attention. It is important, therefore, for all programmes to reconsider their strengths and identify any areas for improvement. D.A.R.E. is no exception.     

The “syndrome of the post-premature child”: a study of its significance -- Part I

Prematurity has the greatest influence upon frequency and degree of mechanical disturbances uncovered by the Test of Imitation of Gestures. The authors look for the significance of this syndrome at various levels:

1. Possible organic damage to the central nervous system structures, through the tonic and motor disturbances checked out by the neurological examination.
2. In the disturbances of the early development of posturomotor abilities.
3. Deviant and delayed development of the cognitive factors (spatial and temporal structuring).
4. Emotional and relationship development.

The investigations were carried out on a sample group of prematurely born children and a control group group of children born at term.

After observing certain behavior disorders which occur among normal children -- mild disorders which become less obvious with age -- the authors show that frequent and gross disturbances which appear in the first months of life and persist beyond the age of 6 years distinguish the premature child. In this same group, however, delays in mental development noted early in life often disappear entirely by the age of 4 years, even among children who were born very prematurely.

The authors then isolated the most typical disturbances found among the premature children, with stress on factors of pathology, maturation, adjustment, and environment.

The authors study the relationship between the disturbances described above and the various aspects of the neurological examinations which enable them to objectify the dynamic factors of the body adjustment to the external world and to other people. The hypothesis that a fundamental relationship exists between disturbances of adjustment and the genesis of the “post-premature child syndrome”, develops from the comparison between the psychological and neurological data in their longitudinal evolution.

Commenting on the relevance of these findings for the care of premature children, the authors stress the value of motor training and remedial education for overcoming the disturbances of spatial structuration and body schema.     

Improving Diagnostic and Assessment Services for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Various studies have highlighted parental dissatisfaction with the diagnostic and assessment services available for children with autistic spectrum disorders. In N. Ireland these appear to be poorly developed compared to other regions of the United Kingdom.

A consultative research project was undertaken with the main stake-holders, namely parents, professionals working in education, health and social services, representatives from provider Education Boards and HSS Trusts and commissioners of health and social services.

Focus groups involving nearly 100 parents and professionals were held throughout the province along with written questionnaires that were completed by over 100 service personnel. The emerging concensus was validated through an iterative process of meetings and comments on draft documents produced by a selected reference group.

Ten principles underpinning assessment services were identified and recommendations developed for improvements to services. Particular attention focused on the provision of local services; developing staff skills, the form of home-based supports and the nature and role of specialised services.     

Group programmes for parents of children with various handicaps*

Summary Programmes were conducted with groups of parents of school-aged, physically handicapped, hearing impaired, and, mildly and moderately mentally handicapped children. In this paper the salient features of the organization of these parent programmes are discussed. Programmes have involved six to eight weekly 2 hour sessions. The format of each session included both lecture presentation and discussion in small groups. Discussions were led by educational psychologists using a combination of reflective and behavioural procedures. Evaluation, by means of post-programme questionnaires and attendance checks, has shown that parents have found programmes to be valuable. An integral part of the parent programmes has been the training of special education teachers in the attitudes and skills necessary for working with parents of handicapped children. The introduction of group programmes is considered to complement the individual training and counseling services already available to such parents in New Zealand.     

Motor proficiency and physical activity in preschool girls: a preliminary study

Physical activity during preschool age promotes sports learning and the acquisition of fundamental and complex movement skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of three different four-month physical and/or pre-sport activity programmes on preschool children’s motor proficiency. Twenty-five girls, aged between four and six years, were involved in the study, 10 practising physical activity, six practising dance (classical), nine practising swimming. Girls’ motor proficiency was assessed before and after the intervention period by means of the BOT-2 Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Short Form (BOT-2 SF). Differential effects of interventions emerged in fine manual control and coordination and in running speed and agility. A playful and highly varied physical activity intervention conducted by a specialized teacher was more effective for the development of preschool girls’ motor proficiency.     

Nutritional status and development of working capacity of preschool Senegalese children

Anthropometric measurements and a sub-maximal effort step-test were recorded three times in one year for a sample of 88 Senegalese children aged between 3 and 6. These children all came from a rural area where nutritional situation is poor. The values significantly improved from one visit to the next, but, in comparison to European or North American standards, somatic growth is retarded, muscular mass is weaker, and cardio-respiratory adaptation to effort is less.

Taking as a malnutrition threshold a height-for-age and a height-for-weight less than -1 standard deviation from the N.C.H.S.#shW.H.0 reference, one concludes that wasted and small for age children register poorer aerobic performance than well nourished children.

These observations stress the importance of nutritional conditions in the somatic and functional development of African children. Study of these relationships is essential to a better understanding of the gravity and consequences of chronic undernutrition     

The impact of mothers' perception of child care services and utilization

To examine the impact of mothers' perception of the roles of pre-primary institutions and what motivates them to choose a particular child care service, 138 working mothers and 20 proprietors of nursery schools and day care centers were interviewed. The facilities available to children in the centers studied was also assessed.

The results suggested that these mothers' expected these institutions to play custodial functions as well as to provide early childhood education. This knowledge could guide proprietors and other interested organizations in the provision of appropriate child care programmes to meet the needs of mothers and their children.

The demand for nursery/day care services in Nigeria has become very high due to the increasing number of women in the workforce.     

Data on gross motor development of the infant

The author presents a study of motor development in the Institute under her direction. Under the conditions created in the Institute, the children's motor activity is continually ensured throughout the period of motor development. The most recent research tends to show that it is precisely the motor and other kinesthetic activities carried out by the child himself on his own initiative which are most important for the development of the mental functions. It is on the basis of these facts- by comparing the usual, typical motor development, directly influenced by adults, with that not under direct influence but in contact with environmental factors (material and people), that we can consider the most physiological side of this development.

Due to the fact that the children are more independent and therefore less in need of adult help, the course of motor development exercises a positive influence on calm, well-balanced child-adult relationships, which are most important in institutions, and of considerable interest at home as well.

Mothers and child nurses thus economize time, which they can. put to good use by applying useful and necessary ideas for the education of their children or of the children they have in custody.