Introduction
Motor development refers to a wide range of crucial human skills such as drinking, walking, and completing independent skills such as dressing and eating. It also includes advanced skills such as writing, using the keyboard, dancing, and work related skills for instance operating machines (Michael, 2006). The ability to move is important to the development of humans, and children develop exceptional skills from the first year of their life through to their adult life. Some of the skills children develop are crucial to basic development of human beings. Some of the basic skills human beings develop include walking, sitting, dressing, picking up objects, and using cups among others. Children develop motor skills in three typical stages. The first stage is characterized by rapid growth and children develop gross motor skills. The second stage is the period of most rapid development and skills include running and climbing. The final stage does not include any new developments but it involves a mastering of the skills learned in the first two stages. This paper discusses the significance of motor development and outlines the differences between typical and atypical motor development of a child as discussed by the three special educators.
Significance of motor development
Motor development is crucial for the everyday life of children without which basic human skills are not possible. Motor development enables children to exhibit important skills that are essential in their life. Motor development widens the scope of activities for children as they grow up. The children are able to explore and understand their environment because of their motor skills (Piek, 2006). The child learns new skills that enable him or her to adjust with the surrounding environment. Because of these new skills, children become self-confident and self-reliant.
Motor development enables children to become independent because they can carry out simple activities such as walking, dressing, and eating without the help of an adult. These skills enable children to be able to participate in daily physical activities during their adulthood stages. Motor skills develop the self-esteem of children as they learn to do other things that adults can do. During the milestones of motor development, children are able to learn different things as they move along the ladder of development. The skills children learn during these stages are crucial in building confidence in the lives of children. The child knows that he or she can carry out a certain activity without the help of another person.
Motor development is significant in children because it enables parents to recognize any physical or health impairment that children may be having (Horvat et al., 2007). Children that do not develop basic motor skills such as sitting, walking, drinking on their own, throwing objects, and dressing on their own may be having a disability that inhibits their motor development. If children cannot be able to perform these motor skills on their own, then there is a problem in their motor development. Thus, motor development enables parents and educators to recognize any signs of physical or health impairments that children may be going through. If children cannot perform basic skills then there is a problem and if educators can recognize these problems early, corrective measures can be taken early in the development stages. Motor development is essential because it enables children to develop other cognitive and perceptual skills in their growth process. Thus, without motor development children may not be able to perform other skills that are essential in development.
Typical and atypical motor development
Typical motor development is about the normal skills that children develop normally in their stages of growth. Parents, educators, and health practitioners often monitor and measure the developmental milestones of a child from infancy to their late childhood. These developmental stages include physical and behavioral activities that with time lead to the child mastering their environment. Activities such as walking, running, crawling and throwing objects among other activities are examples of milestones of development that a child goes through and they provide insight to the development of a child. In typical development, most children develop motor skills in similar times and same patterns. However, attaining these milestones varies for children based on their environment and other personal history (Herbert, 2003). Thus, in typical motor development, stages of development vary depending on the ranges of age as opposed to specific age.
On the contrary, atypical motor development is development of the motor skills that is not normal. Some children portray behavior that is contrary to the normal or expected level of development. This type of behavior is common with atypical development. Each child is unique and he or she develops at a different pace from the other. These ranges and variations in development are normal but beyond a certain range, they become dangerous. Children that exhibit significant delays in attaining major development milestones may be experience atypical motor development. These signs could also be characteristic of motor disorders or impairment in movement and physical disability. Children exhibit signs of atypical motor development if by their tenth month a child still cannot manage to sit down or their legs are very rigid and have difficulty in rolling over.
Older children may also develop atypical motor development in situations where they cannot be able to dress or undress, have problems cutting or drawing and cannot feed themselves with utensils. Prematurity could be a driving factor to atypical development that causes delays in the child’s development. Parents and educators should note carefully atypical behaviors in order to determine if they are normal delays or disorders that could cause physical and health impairments. Among the factors that parents and educators should consider include factors such as duration of behavior and its frequency, interaction with peers, and type of activities.
In atypical development, the special educators agree that children have strong asymmetry but they may be unable to use symmetrical extreme movements. These children are not able to assume and maintain a stable head control because of their visual problems. Thus, atypical motor development is characterized by delays in basic human skills such as walking, dressing, eating, drawing, and sitting among others (Loes & Bert, 2011). Special educators attribute these delays to physical or health impairments in children that may be the cause in children. On the other hand, typical development refers to the ability of children to be able to use their limbs in the right manner that allows movement and performance of other normal physical activities as children grow. Typical development involves the child developing the normal motor skills according to their ages and following the right milestones in their development. For children that develop typically, educators need to enhance their development by activities such as sports and physical education. These activities enhance the motor skills of these children. For children with atypical motor development, educators should take time to build skills that will enable these children to fit in the classroom.
Most children have atypical motor development because of their physical and health impairments that inhibit their ability to move and learn. Special needs educators need to devote their time in building motor skills in these children to strengthen their muscles and limbs. With strong limbs, children can be able to take care of their personal needs such as eating, dressing, walking, and talking with little or no help. Thus, motor development for students with physical and health impairments is the link that enables them to use and learn with their five senses. These areas may not have the normal developments as for other normal students and thus, educators need to take atypical approach to enhance the motor skills in these students (Michael, 2004). An atypical development is a more extreme form of enhancing the motor skills of children with physical and health impairments to enable them behave normally. Special educators assert that atypical motor development is suitable for students with physical or health impairments because it enables them to develop basic motor skills. On the other hand, typical motor development helps in strengthening the motor skills in children growing normally.
Conclusion
Motor development is essential in learning and enabling children become independent because they can do basic skills on their own. Motor development involves gaining mobility and the ability to perform certain tasks as a child grows such as sitting, walking, feeding, throwing objects, and running among others. Motor development is essential in enabling children to become independent and gain self-reliant skills. Typical motor development is for children developing normally that need to strengthen their motor skills while atypical motor development assists students with physical and health impairments to develop the skills.
References
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Michael, W.L. (2004). Factors related to the expression typical and atypical repetitive
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