Motor Development
Early Intervention
After 1986, legislation was passed at the state level to set up services that assist families who suspect their child may have some developmental delays. These services are called early intervention systems. The main purpose of early intervention is to offer evaluation and treatment to children from birth to age three and to their families. The professionals involved with early intervention are members of a team who test a child's skills to see where the child's current skills are in relation to the chronological age. Children who are not doing many motor activities typical of their age may be considered at risk or delayed. These children may not have the strength, coordination, or balance to do most things that others of their age can do. The professionals involved in early intervention include occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, special education teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers, and service coordinators. Each of these professionals help the child and family learn about ways to improve motor coordination so the child can function more independently.
Bibliography
Ames, Louise Bates, Clyde Gillespie, Jacqueline Haines, and Frances L. Ilg. The Gesell Institute's Child from One to Six: Evaluating the Behavior of the Preschool Child. New York: Harper and Row, 1979.
Case-Smith, Jane, ed. Pediatric Occupational Therapy and Early Intervention, 2nd edition. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1998.
Case-Smith, Jane, Anne S. Allen, and Pat Nuse Pratt, eds. Occupational Therapy for Children, 3rd edition. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1996.
Coleman, Jeanine G. The Early Intervention Dictionary: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Terminology, 2nd edition. Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House, 1999.
Davies, Douglas. Child Development: A Practitioner's Guide. New York:Guilford Press, 1999.
"Developmental Milestones." In the University of Maryland Medicine [web site]. Maryland, 2000. Available from http://umm.drkoop.com/conditions/ency/article/002006.htm; INTERNET.
"Early Learning Accomplishment Profile (Early LAP) Birth toThirty-Six Months." Chapel Hill, NC: Chapel Hill Training-Outreach Project, 1988, 1995.
Freiberg, Karen L. Human Development: A Life-Span Approach, 3rd edition. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 1987.
Gormly, Anne V., and David M. Brodzinsky. Life Span Human Development, 6th edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
"Including Your Child." Appendix A: "Developmental Progress Chart." 1997. Available from http://www.ed/.gov/pubs/parents/Including/develop.html; INTERNET.
Karmiloff, Kyra, and Annette Karmiloff-Smith. Everything Your Baby Would Ask, If Only He or She Could Talk. New York: Golden Books, 1999.
Paplia, Diane E., and Sally Wendkosolds. A Child's World: Infancy through Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987.
Joan Ziegler Delahunt
Additional topics
Social Issues ReferenceChild Development Reference - Vol 6Motor Development - Transition From Reflex Movement To Voluntary Movement, Principles Of Development, Motor Milestones, Assessment Of Gross Motor And Fine Motor Development