Background: Current policy in Oregon under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) indicates that children diagnosed with developmental delay (DD) are eligible for services before school, but not eligible for the receipt of services in school-based programs. Due to this definition of eligibility, children with DD face additional barriers...
Interventions for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) focus on core impairments in social communication skills, yet studies have shown a relationship between social and motor skill deficits in children with ASD. The purpose of this study is to further examine individual levels of gross and fine motor skills...
Many children with developmental disabilities are not engaging in the recommended amount of daily physical activity (Pan, 2008; Shields, Dodd, & Abblitt, 2009; Whitt-Glover et al., 2006), which can lead to additional health disparities and decreased quality of life for children in this population (Field & Jette, 2007). The relationship...
Executive function (EF) is an extensively researched topic as a predictor for academic achievements for children. Delineated as qualities of self-regulation, EF prepares a child to produce successful behaviors for their learning and social environments. Entering school with sufficient self-regulation skills is proven advantageous for scholarly performance. Within the early...
In 2022, the Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth noted only 24% of children ages 6 to 17 years achieved the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity daily, with a drop in physical activity as children age (Barriss, 2022). More importantly, children with disabilities have been found...
Activism is the action of promoting and campaigning for political or social change and a growing concept in the United States for the past few decades. This has included a Civil Rights movement, a Disability Rights movement, gender equality movements, and other movements - activist groups have been pushing for...
Early childhood is a crucial time for the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical needs to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong wellbeing and learning (Irwin et al., 2007). During this critical period, there is an increased demand for motor skills and executive function...
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MeganMacDonald
Early childhood is a crucial time for the holistic development of a
Students with disabilities are not being afforded the same access to sporting opportunities as their peers without disabilities. The purpose of this dissertation was to build on a foundation of information regarding collegiate adaptive sports through a Critical Disabilities Studies lens. Specific aims included: (1) identifying and describing intercollegiate, adaptive...
Children with developmental disabilities (DDs) have been observed to have delays in motor skills compared to their age-matched peers without disabilities. Empirical research suggests that children with motor skill delays experience more internalizing and externalizing behaviours and that early motor skill difficulties may be an important indicator of future increases...
Young children with developmental disabilities (< 12 years old) participate less in physical activity (PA) and experience motor skill deficits compared to young children without disabilities (Jung, Leung, Schram, & Yun, 2018; Liu, Hamilton, Davis, & ElGarhy, 2014; Whyatt & Craig, 2012). When taking account of a bi-directional relationship between...
Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is recommended for all individuals because of the benefits it provides to physical health, mental health, and overall quality of life (QoL). It is also recommended for children with developmental disabilities (DDs), which make up about 15% of all U.S. children ages 3-17 years. Previous studies...
Introduction: Parents provide an in-depth and unique perspective on their children with developmental disabilities (DDs) experiences and involvement in physical activity. Furthermore, family pets promote physical activity and quality of life in children with DDs. An imitation based physical activity program for children with DD and their family dog took...
Childhood obesity is an extensively research topic as it effects a large number of individuals and has serious consequences on those effected. Current statistics estimate roughly 17% of the youth population is now obese. However, the spread of these cases is not equally distributed. Certain populations are at increased risk...
Background. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social-communicative deficits and restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities (APA, 2013). While current estimates suggest 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with ASD, more alarming statistics indicate 1 in 50 school-aged children live with the disorder (Blumberg, Bramlett, Kogan,...
The purpose of this study was to compare the child behaviors of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ages 44-91 months) in different play settings. The hypothesis states that more positive child behaviors will be observed in the motor-based play setting compared to the free play setting. This study observed...
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is described as a developmental disability characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication, and repetitive or restricted movements. It has been shown that as children with ASD age, their cognitive and social skills improve with time, and physical activity has been linked with improving aspects of...
ASD is characterized primarily by deficits in social and communicative skills, however recent studies show differences in motor skills as well when compared to typically developing children. Because of these differences, parents of children with ASD may portray different behaviors than parents of typically developing children. This research aims to find...
Children with physical disabilities typically participate in physical activities that are aligned with their function. As a result, children with physical disabilities engage in solitary activities more often, leaving little room to practice age appropriate social behaviors during physical activity with peers (Livingston et al, 2011). Emerging literature supports the...
Background: Mastery of fundamental motor skills (FMS) in childhood is proposed to facilitate participation in physical activity (PA) opportunities, through context-specific application of FMS (Clarke & Metclafe, 2002; Stodden et al., 2008). Children with disabilities
impacting motor skill development thus are at greater risk for low PA participation. Evidence indicates...
Background: Early childhood is filled with incredible growth in all areas of development and offers a critical period for optimal learning (Lerner, 2002). During this critical period both motor skills (Bouffard, Watkinson, Thompson, Causgrove Dunn, & Romanow, 1996; Clark & Metcalfe, 2002; Lubans, Morgan, Cliff, Barnett, & Okely, 2010; Stodden...
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between physical activity level and motor skill proficiency in school-aged children ages 9-18 with developmental disabilities. Physical activity level was assessed using Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers, which participants wore for all hours of the day for seven days. Motor skill proficiency...
Cerebral Palsy is a muscle movement disorder caused by an insult to the immature developing brain before birth. Children with Cerebral Palsy generally have impaired movement, exaggerated joints, floppiness or rigidity of limbs and torso, abnormal posture, involuntary movement, and unsteady walking. This study was designed to test whether working...
Cerebral palsy is a permanent neurodevelopmental disorder that affects physical activity level as well as perception and cognition and is often accompanied by secondary disorders (Rosenbaum, 2006). In order to gain the most health benefits, research shows that meeting the physical activity requirements of strength and cardiorespiratory training should be...
Current prevalence statistics suggest 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (CDC, 2012). ASDs are pervasive developmental disorders characterized by social communicative deficits and restricted interests and behaviors (APA, 2000). Children with ASD also display deficits in motor skills (Green et al., 2002: Pan, Tsai, &...
Fine and gross motor skills are essential for healthy development. Studies suggest that children in lower socioeconomic status (SES) families present a delay in these essential motor skills and, therefore, are at risk for poor motor skill development.This study aimed to correlate fine and gross motor skills with family socioeconomic...
The purpose of this study was to compare the fine and gross motor skills of young children with and without autism. Within the Children and Youth with Disabilities Lab, the Movement Intervention for Young Children with Autism project seeks to create effective interventions to improve the fine and gross motor...
The importance of physical activity is well documented (Haskell et al., 2009a; McReynolds & Rossen, 2004; Steinbeck, 2001). Despite physical activity’s benefits, many individuals are not meeting current weekly physical activity guidelines recommending ≥ 150 minutes of moderate or ≥ 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity and 2 or...