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EARLY MOTOR DEVELOPMENT. Newborn movements have been catergorised into two general catergories ; 1.Random or spontaneous 2.Infantile reflexes The two are very different. Spontaneous Movements. Are infant movements that occur without any apparent stimulation. There are two.
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Newborn movements have been catergorised into two general catergories; • 1.Random or spontaneous • 2.Infantile reflexes • The two are very different.
Spontaneous Movements • Are infant movements that occur without any apparent stimulation. • There are two
Supine Kicking and Walking • Thelenetal. 1995 analyzed supine kicking and found that it was not random but rhythmical and had a coordinated pattern • The ankle, knee and hip joints moved supportively with each other. • The kicks had 4 phases;1.A flexion phase, 2.A pause phase,3.a forward extension phase and 4.A between –kick interval.
Supine Kicking and Walking • The coordination of these kicks resemble the positioning of an adult walking step. • The kicking in infants ,however , has a similar but not identical coordination pattern to walking.
Spontaneous Arm Movements • They show well coordinated extention of the elbow, wrist and finger joints
Infantile Reflexes • It is an involuntary movement to a specific stimulus that is seen only during infants. • Sometimes these responses occur only if the body is in a specific position. • Reflexes seen during infancy can be categorised into 3 types of movements.
Infantile Reflexes • Primitive reflexes • Postural reflexes • Locomotor reflexes
Differences Between Spontaneous Movements and Infantile Reflexes • Reflexes are responses to specific external stimuli, whereas spontaneous is not a result from any apparent external stimuli. • Reflexes are specific and often localised, whereas spontaneous movements tend to be non specific and generalised • The same stimuli will produce a specific reflex over and over again.
Role of Reflexes in Survival Primitive reflexes; • In nourishing and protecting the primitive reflexes are critical for survival eg. • Oral sucking action when the lips are touched. • A neonate (infant less than 4 weeks old) is born without the voluntary capacity to ingest food by voluntary means
Role of Reflexes in Survival Postural Reflexes • Or gravity reflexes, help the infant to automatically maintain posture in a changing environment. • Some of these responses keep the head upright keeping the breathing passages open.
Role of Reflexes in Survival Locomotor Reflexes • They are related to the development of later voluntary movements of walking ,crawling and swimming
Reflexes as Diagnostic Tools • They are important in determining the infant’s level of neurological maturation. • Severe deviations from the normal time frame may indicate immaturity or dysfunction. • Reflexes however should be tested carefully and onlybytrained professionals.
Motor Milestones • A motor milestone is a essential motor skill whose attainment is associated with the gaining of later voluntary movements. • The order in which an infant attains these milestones is relatively consistent, although the timing differs among individuals.
Motor Milestones • Each skill has a preceding milestone associated with it • This progressive pattern of skill gaining can be related to predictable changes in individual limitations that occur in typical developing infants. • These include;
Changes in Individual Constrains • Maturation of the central nervous system. • Development of muscular strength and endurance. • Development of posture and balance • Improvement of sensory processing
