Basic Motor Skills Instruction for Children with Neuromotor Delays

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to examine and integrate the findings of empirical research on the effectiveness of basic motor skills instruction for children with neuromotor delays. Twenty-eight studies were identified. The methodology and effectiveness of the specific training approaches implemented in each study were analyzed. Training approaches were classified into one of four frameworks: neuromotor interventions, sensory integration techniques, behavioral programming, and naturalistic programming. Analysis of study findings indicate that progress in developing and conducting rigorous empirical investigations to address questions of effectiveness of motor intervention techniques is occurring, albeit slowly. The area with the strongest research base is behavioral programming. All approaches, however, lack comprehensive assessment of generalization and maintenance, especially in terms of response generalization, generalization to the natural environment, and maintenance. In fact, the issue of generalization appears to be central to this body of literature, in terms of both directions for future research and implications for current practice.