Consolidation Memory Theory Applied to Relearning Motor Skills in Profoundly Retarded, Multiply Handicapped Children

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of latency periods on the retention of gross motor skills in three profoundly retarded, multiply handicapped children, and the efficacy of a relearning model as a test of learning among these children. The study used a quasi-experimental, multiple baseline-across-subjects design. The subjects were taught a motor skill designed specifically to their abilities; the skill was retaught following latency periods of 90, 30, and 14 days during which time the skill was not practiced. Based upon the results of this study, it was concluded that the subjects had some ability to retrieve motor programs and that some feedback process operated to refine the motor program. It was determined that the number of trials required to achieve a criterion is dependent upon the latency interval, with a 14-day interval having no effect upon achievement of criterion. These findings are used to support an argument for intermittent programming for the retention of motor skills in profoundly retarded, multiply handicapped children, thereby helping them to maintain and expand their repertoire of behaviors.