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Abnormal clumsiness in children: a defect of motor programming?
1Department of Psychology, University of Adelaide, Australia.
Child: Care, Health and Development
|September 1, 1991
Summary
Clumsy children struggle with movement programming and rely more on sensory feedback for control. This impacts their reaction times and complex movement execution compared to typically developing peers.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Motor control
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Abnormal clumsiness in children is often linked to perceptual and motor deficits.
- The underlying causes of developmental coordination disorder remain unclear.
- Understanding movement programming and feedback utilization is crucial for addressing childhood clumsiness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate movement programming abilities in clumsy children.
- To examine the role of visual and kinaesthetic feedback in movement control for clumsy children.
- To compare motor control strategies between clumsy and normal children.
Main Methods:
- Clumsy and typically developing children performed simple and complex movements.
- Visual input was manipulated (available vs. precluded) during motor tasks.
- Reaction time and movement time were measured for all participants and conditions.
Main Results:
- Clumsy children exhibited longer reaction times than normal children.
- Movement time was significantly longer for complex movements in clumsy children.
- Simple movement execution time did not differ significantly between groups.
Conclusions:
- Clumsy children appear to have difficulties in motor programming.
- These children demonstrate a greater reliance on sensory feedback for movement regulation.
- Findings suggest specific motor control challenges in developmental coordination disorder.