Unintentional Falls is the second leading cause of nonfatal injuries in the United States (U.S.). Sedentary behaviors are at an all-time high in schools leading to children not engaging in enough physical activity throughout their school day. Physical education and recess opportunities have decreased in school for the past ten years, leading to…

Finger gnosia and fine motor skills (FMS) are assumed to play a key role in the development of arithmetic abilities, but their contribution to early numerical skills (i.e., enumeration skills and cardinality) has received little attention so far. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive value of finger gnosia and FMS to…

Background: To investigate the safety and feasibility of six sessions of Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) integrated into an inpatient therapy concept and their influence on walking speed and gait parameters in adult CP patients. Methods: Eleven subjects (male = 8, female = 3, mean age: 23 years and 2 months, ± 4.5…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review of research on oral and laryngeal diadochokinesis (DDK) in children and adults, either typically developing/developed or with a clinical diagnosis. Method: Searches were conducted with PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, CINAHL, and legacy sources in retrieved articles. Search terms…

Background: Children with poor motor skills are at increased risk of peer victimization. However, it is unclear whether poor gross and fine motor skills are differently linked to peer victimization among pre-school and schoolchildren. Aims: To investigate associations between poor gross and fine motor skills measured in pre-school and the…

Research has shown that large visual illusions and an external focus of attention can improve novice's motor learning. However, the combined effects of these approaches and the underlying mechanisms have yet to be studied. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of a large visual illusion and an external focus on the learning of a dart…

The cardinal features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are recognized to include impairments in communication, social interactions, and restricted, repetitive behaviors and stereotyped interests. However, many children with ASD also have motor activity limitations that are often overlooked. The purpose of this review is to summarize the…

Developing players who are adept at using both sides of the body (i.e., bilateral skill) is a challenge for coaches in many sports. With players being required to execute a range of skills with hand and foot on both sides of the body, Gaelic football provides an ideal natural laboratory for the study of laterality. Previous quantitative research…

Subtle instructional changes that direct attentional focus can lead to changes in performance, potentially hindering a fitness assessment. An external attentional focus has been found to improve motor performance, however less is known about instructional effects on performance and the physiological response during an isometric endurance test. To…

Purpose: This study examines object permanence development in infants with motor delays (MD) compared with infants with typical development (TD) and in relation to sitting skill. Methods: Fifty-six infants with MD (mean age = 10 months) and 36 with TD (mean age = 5.7 months) were assessed at baseline and then at 1.5, 3, and 6 months postbaseline.…

Administering anodal transcranial direct current stimulation at the left dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) but not right PMd throughout the repetitive practice of three novel motor sequences resulted in improved offline performance usually only observed after interleaved practice. This gain only emerged following overnight sleep. These data are…

Purpose: Stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder that disrupts the timing and rhythmic flow of speech production. There is growing evidence indicating that abnormal interactions between the auditory and motor cortices contribute to the development of stuttering. The present study investigated speech auditory-motor synchronization in stuttering…

This study aiming to compare the effectiveness of Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) and Conductive Education (CE) approaches on motor skills, activity limitation and participation restrictions in children with Down Syndrome (DS). Twelve children were randomly assigned into two groups. Twelve-week CO-OP or CE…

The automatization of handwriting and typing is sustained by both sensorimotor and linguistic abilities that support the integration of central-linguistic processes with modality-specific peripheral-motor programs. How this integration evolves when handwriting and, especially, typing is not fully automatized has not been well-understood yet. In…

This study compared the effects of video feedback (VF) as a stand-alone intervention and video modeling plus video feedback (VMVF) for improving soccer players' static ball control skills. Research has suggested that VF alone and VMVF produce substantial improvements for young athlete's skills, though no studies have compared the two. Therefore,…