[Download] "Motor Skill Performance of Children and Adolescents with Visual Impairments: A Review (Report)" by Exceptional Children " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Motor Skill Performance of Children and Adolescents with Visual Impairments: A Review (Report)
- Author : Exceptional Children
- Release Date : January 22, 2009
- Genre: Education,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 277 KB
Description
Visual impairment (VI; i.e., low vision or blindness) has an impact on all aspects of a child's development (Warren, 1994). One specific concern to researchers and practitioners in the field of human movement behavior and special education is the impact of VI on the domains of motor development and the learning of complex motor skills (Buell, 1982; Skaggs & Hopper, 1996). Motor skills play a crucial role in the social and emotional functioning of a child and may impact quality of life and well being (Poulsen, Ziviani, Johnson, & Cuskelly, 2008; Skinner & Piek, 2001; Sleeuwenhoek, Boter, & Vermeer, 1995; Verrips et al., 1999). Poor motor skills may lead to poor performance in physical activities, which may reduce a child's sense of competence. This may lead to withdrawal from movement activities that would, in turn, lead to limited opportunities to practice motor skills and participate socially (Skinner & Piek). How can problems of children with VI in the motor domain be explained? This is an important question, as the answer should provide a basis for the development and improvement of physical education programs and the successful inclusion of children with VI in diverse physical activities. Vision plays an important role in motor skill performance as vision guides and controls the acquisition, differentiation, and automatization of motor skills (Brambring, 2001). Functions of vision in motor skill acquisition are (a) incentive function--to motivate children to move, (b) spatial function--to provide information about distance and direction of movements and objects, (c) protective function--to anticipate dangerous situations, and (d) controlling/feedback function--to detect errors and correct the ongoing movement by online regulation of the movement. Furthermore, vision enables children to imitate movements made by others (Brambring, 2006). Complete or severe vision loss cannot be compensated completely through alternative sensory information (e.g., touch, kinesthesia, or hearing) or verbal--cognitive processes. Thus, it seems plausible that when vision is impaired, motor problems will occur (Brambring, 2006). Warren (1994) has indicated that variables linked to impaired vision, such as environmental opportunities and barriers for movement, rather than the VI per se have an impact on the motor skill performance of individuals with VI. Data concerning the motor skill performance of school-age children and adolescents with VI remain scarce, however, as most of the research is based on motor fitness performance or motor development of infants with VI.