Affordances for Motor Development in the Home Environment for Young Children with and without CHARGE Syndrome.

Pamela Beach,Lauren Lieberman,Melanie Perreault

doi:10.3390/ijerph182211936

Pamela Beach, Lauren Lieberman + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182211936

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Abstract

Affordances in the home environment are critical to early motor development. Currently, the home environment has not been examined in children with deafblindness or severe disabilities. The present study examined differences in, and relationships between, the home environment and motor development in children with and without CHARGE syndrome. CHARGE syndrome is a low-incidence, complex disorder with sensory and motor impairments. Participants included 28 parents of children with CHARGE syndrome and 32 parents of children without disabilities. Children with CHARGE syndrome achieved motor milestones significantly later and had fewer outside space affordances than children without disabilities. Older children had a greater variety of stimulation and fine motor toys, and those that achieved independent walking later had more outside space and fine and gross motor toys. Early experiences may be more important for children with CHARGE syndrome than children without disabilities. Moreover, parents can play a vital role in their children’s motor development to help them reach their motor milestones.

Highlights

Health 2021, 18, 11936. https://During the early years, young children develop many motor milestones and fundamental motor skills [1]
We proposed two hypotheses: 1. affordances as measured by the AHEMD will significantly differ in children with CHARGE syndrome in comparison to children without disabilities; 2. fine and gross motor toys available in the home will be significantly related to age of motor milestones
There were significant differences in age of motor milestones, wherein the children without disabilities achieved each milestone at an earlier age than the children with CHARGE syndrome (p < 0.001; see Table 4)

Summary

Introduction

Health 2021, 18, 11936. https://During the early years, young children develop many motor milestones and fundamental motor skills [1]. Infants and young children develop these motor milestones and motor skills through interacting with the environment in a meaningful way. Both gross motor skills, involving large muscles (e.g., kicking), and fine motor skills, involving smaller muscles (e.g., building a tower), are functionally integrated during development [3] and develop using the same higher-order neuromotor processes [4]. The notion of affordances within the ecological perspective provides a framework for understanding external influences on an individual’s motor development From this perspective, affordances are aspects of the task (e.g., equipment) and environment (e.g., open space, parental support) that provide opportunities for action [5,6]. Children with increased support and opportunities in the home would benefit while children who lack these affordances may lag behind their peers in their motor development [7]

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