Irving Independent School District
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Adapted Physical Education Information

Motor Development

Motor skill development helps us understand how infants, toddlers and young children develop the ability to be in control of their own bodies. Motor skill development is a very important study that helps us to understand the sequence of motor skill development in infants and children, included in this is the role of genetic and environmental factors that may affect motor skill development. There are several types of motor skill development including the following:

Gross Motor Development – large body movements, control over actions, and getting around the environment. Improvement in gross motor skills is reflected in increased speed, power, coordination, agility and balance, also referred to as basic components if motor fitness.
Fine Motor Development – smaller movements, hand and finger movements, and controlled and refined movements. Improvements in fine motor skills include control over the small hand and finger muscles requiring fine motor control for small details, ex. Sewing, knitting, drawing.

Developmental milestones, examples include crawling, walking, saying single words, putting words together into phrases and sentences, and following directions, are expected to happen at certain times although not all children will reach these milestones at the expected times, some may be more advanced and some may be a little late. Culture and environment play an important part in these milestones. Language may also play an important role in the development process. Atypical or delayed development, the failure to attain age appropriate milestones, may be an early warning sign of a more significant problem. There is a difference in slow or late development and development that is not quite right in quality, form or function. If development is delayed parents should talk to their family physician to get a better idea of what may be going on. The following are a few developmental milestone charts that may be helpful in noting what happens and when with a child’s development.

behavior	possible variations due to cultural/environmental influences
making eye contact	limited eye contact may show respect; maintaining eye contact may be an inappropriate way for children to interact with adults
speaking to adults	responding only when spoken to first; answering questions with formal titles (sir, ma'am)
taking initiative	waiting for adult direction; making sure to ask permission before starting an activity

Reflex name	Method	Age Disappears	Motor preparation
Tonic neck	Assumes fencing position; 1 arm extended in front of eyes on side to which head is turned. Other arm flexed.	4 months	May prepare for voluntary reaching
Stepping	Lifts one foot after another in stepping response	2 months	Prepares for voluntary walking
Palmar grasp	Spontaneous grasp of adult's finger	3-4 months	Prepares for voluntary grasping

Motor Skill	Average Age Achieved	Age Range (90% Infants)
Head erect & steady when held upright	6 weeks	3 weeks-4 months
Lifts self by arms when prone	2 months	3 weeks-4 months
Rolls from side to back	2 months	3 weeks-5 months
Grasps cube	3 months, 3 weeks	2-7 months
Rolls from back to side	4 ½ months	2-7 months
Sits alone	7 months	5-9 months
Crawls	7 months	5-11 months
Pulls to stand	8 months	5-12 months
Plays Pat-a-cake	9 months, 3 weeks	7-15 months
Stands alone	11 months	9-16 months
Walks alone	11 months, 3 weeks	9-17 months
Builds tower of 2 cubes	13 months, 3 weeks	10-19 months
Scribbles vigorously	14 months	10-21 months
Walks up stairs with help	16 months	12-23 months
Jumps in place	23 months, 2 weeks	17-30 months

These carts were taken from the following website http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLT/2004/5motor/Pages/p_index.htm

If development is delayed parents should talk to their family physician to get a better idea of what may be going on. Document when these milestones occur so that if and when you talk to your family physician you can accurately express your concerns. Remember not all children will reach these milestones at the exact age listed; some may just be late bloomers.

References and other resources:

http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLT/2004/5motor/Pages/p_index.htm
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/early_identification/normal_development.html
http://www.deafnessatbirth.org.uk/contents/2/2.2/2.2.a/content.pdf

Adapted Physical Education Links:
Project Inspire
Internet Resources for Special Children
University of Kansas Special Education on-line
Yahoo's Search engine for "Culture & Disability"