CHAPTER 4: Physical, Motor, and Sensory Development

Chapter Preview
This chapter discusses the typical and atypical patterns of physical growth, motor and sensory development from birth through 36 months. The chapter addresses the biological, familial, and environmental risk and protective factors that influence growth and development.

Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Introduce the differences between growth and development.
• Highlight the typical patterns of growth for children from birth to 36 months.
• Address risk and protective factors involved in atypical growth and development.
• Understand how the brain develops and what this means for learning and early intervention.
• Focus on differences between gross and fine motor development.
• Look at the sensory systems and how they develop.
• Understand what risk means in the context of sensory and motor development.

Key Terms and Concepts
Arousal is the infant’s ability to stay alert and to move or transition between different states of sleep and wakefulness.
Auditory perception is the ability to detect differences in intensity and frequency and to show auditory preferences.
Axons are long slender nerve fibers that conduct electrical impulses away from the cell body.
Body Mass Index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Brain stem is the lower part of the brain, which connects to the spinal column.
Cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the cerebrum.
Corpus callosum is a broad band of nerve fibers, axons, and cells in the cerebral cortex that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
Decibels are a measure of the power or intensity of sound.
Dendrites are branched projections of a neuron that conduct electrical impulses to the cell body.
Frontal lobe lies at the front of each cerebral hemisphere and plays a role in judgment, impulse control, language, memory, and problem solving.
Gray matter consists of nerve cell bodies, which are grayish in color.
Kinesthetic perception is the sensation of position, movement, and tension in parts of the body perceived through the nerves in the muscles, tendons, and joints.
Limbic system consists of the structures of the brain involved in emotions associated with memories and motivation.
Myelin sheath is an electrically insulating layer of glial cells that surrounds the axons of many neurons.
Neurons are cells of the nervous system that are electrically excitable, and they process and transmit messages.
Neurotransmitters are chemicals released from one neuron that cross the synapse to a receiving neuron.
Occipital lobe is the visual processing center of the brain.
Parietal lobe is involved in the perception and integration of sensory input.
Proprioception provides feedback on the internal status of the body and where various parts of the body are in relation to other parts.
Rate limiter or controller is a body system that holds back or slows down the emergence of a motor skill.
Sensory integration is the organization of senses by the brain to form perceptions, behaviors, and learning.
Somatosensors are receptors located under the skin, in the muscles, at muscle-tendon junctions and in joint capsules and ligaments.
Spatial perception allows infants and toddlers to deal with the dimensions and distances of objects and the relationship of objects in the environment.
Synapses are small spaces separating neurons.
Temporal lobe is involved with auditory processing and verbal and visual memory.
Vestibular system is located in the inner ear and provides input about movement and orientation in space.
Visual perception is the ability to interpret visible light information for planning and action.
White matter is myelinated axons that connect gray matter areas to each other and carry nerve impulses.

Chapter Outline
Physical Growth
The Central Nervous System
Motor Development
Sensation and Perception
Vision
Hearing
Kinesthesis

Recommended Reading
From the Editors. (2007). Growing up to a new standard: WHO growth charts make breastfeeding the norm. Pediatric Basics, 2007(116). Retrieved April 21, 2007, from http://www.gerber.com/content/usa/html/pages/pediatricbasics/articles/ 116_04-growingup.html
Gallahue, D. L., & Cleland-Donnelly, F. (2003). Developmental physical education for all children (4th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Gallahue, D. L., & Ozmun, J. C. (2002). Understanding motor development: Infants, children, adolescents, adults (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Haywood, K. M., & Getchell, N. (2005). Life span motor development (4th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Sanders, S. W. (2002). Active for life: Developmentally appropriate movement programs for young children. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.
Williamson, G. G., & Anzalone, M. E. (2001). Sensory integration and self-regulation in infants and toddlers: Helping very young children interact with their environment. Washington, DC: Zero to Three.
Yaun, A. L., & Keating, R. (2007). The brain and the nervous system. In M. L.
Batshaw, L. Pellegrino, & N. J. Rosen (Eds.), Children with disabilities (6th ed., pp. 185–202). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Relevant Web Sites
Brazelton Touchpoints Center provides a training program called the Touchpoints Model for multidisciplinary professionals. The goal is to provide them with skills and strategies with which they can build alliances with parents of children aged zero to three. The Touchpoints framework focuses on key points in the development of infants, toddlers, and their families. http://www.touchpoints.org

Child Development Institute was founded by Dr. Robert Myers, a clinical child psychologist in California. The Web site provides information on child development, parenting, family life, teenagers, learning, health and safety, child psychology, and mental health. Navigate to the Helping Your Child’s Physical Developmentpage and find tips for simple motor activities that help to develop physical skills while developing parent-child relationships. http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/

Gerber hosts a Web site for professionals that includes their journal Pediatric Basics. In volume 2007/116, the article “Growing up to a new standard: WHO makes breastfeeding the norm” compares the growth charts from the CDC and WHO.
http://www.gerber.com/pediatricbasics/html

Neuroscience for Kids at the University of Washington is a great site for teachers, and it is very useful in understanding the basics of the CNS. http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html.

Pathways Awareness Foundation is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the benefit of early detection and early therapy for children with early motor delays. Its Web site contains valuable information about children’s physical development including a growth and development chart where you can track a child’s physical, play, and speech milestones from 3 to 15 months. www.pathwaysawareness.org

Talaris Research Institute is a nonprofit Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) dedicated to advancing knowledge of early brain development. Their research is focused on children from birth to age five. They sponsor scientific studies on early brain and behavioral development and then translate the research findings into useful tools and information for parents, caregivers, educators, healthcare, and business professionals. The Web site features a list of recommended reading and easy-to-read summaries of research (Research Spotlights) on how children think, feel, and learn. http://www.talaris.org/

The American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR) is dedicated to enhancing quality of life by promoting creative and active lifestyles through meaningful physical activity, recreation, and fitness experiences across the lifespan with particular focus on community-based programs. http://www.aahperd.org/aapar/

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed growth charts for boys and girls as well as measures for body mass index. When you get into the site, put in the words growth charts to look at how physical growth can be charted. http://www.cdc.gov.

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) seeks to enhance knowledge and professional practice in sport and physical activity through scientific study and dissemination of research-based and experiential knowledge to members and the public. http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/

The Public Broadcasting System provides information for parents on infants and toddlers. It focuses on how to make young children feel good about themselves and how to tell whether they have special needs. It is useful to see what sites focusing on parents are highlighting. http://www.pbs.org/wholechild

The World Health Organization has developed child growth standards and charts that are used to look at the growth of infants who are breast-fed. These are used in many countries other than the United States. Put the words nutrition and child growth into the search engine to find their chart. http://www.who.int