Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Parental Behavior Influences on Motor Skill Development in Young Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Child Psychiatry & Human Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Young children with developmental disabilities (DDs) experience motor skill deficits compared to their peers without disabilities. Even though parents play an important role in developing their children’s motor skills, it has not been widely studied how parental behaviors influence motor skill development in young children with DDs. Therefore, the current study has two main purposes: (a) to examine early motor skill development of preschool aged children (3–5 years) with DDs longitudinally over a two-year period and (b) to longitudinally examine the relationship between parental behaviors and the motor skill development of young children with DDs. Fundamental motor skills (locomotor and object control skills) in 64 young children with DDs and their parent’s behavior was measured at five time points when children were between the ages of three and five years. Multilevel modeling was used to examine motor skill progression in young children with DDs and to evaluate the longitudinal relationship between parenting behaviors and motor skill development in young children with DDs. Findings indicated that young children with DDs develop their motor skills in a non-linear fashion across two years. Young children with DDs who have parents with one standard deviation higher (+ SD) in the positive parental behavior than average showed a statistically significant linear increase in the standard scores of locomotor and object-control skills with age (b = 0.27, p = 0.01; b = 0.22, p < 0.01, respectively). This study highlights the importance of positive parenting behaviors in regard to promoting motor skills in young children with DDs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ulrich DA, Sanford CB. Test of gross motor development : examiner’s manual. 2nd ed. Austin, Tex. (8700 Shoal Creek Blvd., Austin 78757) : Pro-Ed; 2000. Available from: https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/41517823. Accessed 19 Jan 2018

  2. Lloyd M, Saunders TJ, Bremer E, Tremblay MS (2014) Long-term importance of fundamental motor skills: a 20-year follow-up study. Adapt Phys Act Q 31(1):67–78

    Google Scholar 

  3. Stodden D, Goodway J (2007) The dynamic association between motor skill development and physical activity. J Phys Educ Recreat Dance 1(78):1–58

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hands B (2008) Changes in motor skill and fitness measures among children with high and low motor competence: a five-year longitudinal study. J Sci Med Sport 11(2):155–162

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Barnett LM, Salmon J, Hesketh KD (2016) More active pre-school children have better motor competence at school starting age: an observational cohort study. BMC Public Health 16(1):1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bellows LL, Davies PL, Courtney JB, Gavin WJ, Johnson SL, Boles RE (2017) Motor skill development in low-income, at-risk preschoolers: a community-based longitudinal intervention study. J Sci Med Sport 20(11):997–1002

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. Physical activity and health. 2015. Accessed http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm

  8. Barkley RA (2014) Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a handbook for diagnosis and treatment. Guilford Publications, New York

    Google Scholar 

  9. Hartman E, Houwen S, Scherder E, Visscher C (2010) On the relationship between motor performance and executive functioning in children with intellectual disabilities: motor and executive functioning in children with ID. J Intellect Disabil Res 54(5):468–477

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Liu T, Hamilton M, Davis L, ElGarhy S (2014) Gross motor performance by children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children on TGMD-2. J Child Adolesc Behav. https://doi.org/10.4172/2375-4494.1000123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Whyatt CP, Craig CM (2012) Motor skills in children aged 7–10 years, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 42(9):1799–1809

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Visscher C, Houwen S, Scherder EJA, Moolenaar B, Hartman E (2007) Motor profile of children with developmental speech and language disorders. Pediatrics 120(1):e158–e163

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Iuzzini-Seigel J (2021) Procedural learning, grammar, and motor skills in children with childhood apraxia of speech, speech sound disorder, and typically developing speech. J Speech Lang Hear Res 64(4):1081–1103

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Lloyd M, MacDonald M, Lord C (2013) Motor skills of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders. Autism 17(2):133–146

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Barnett LM, van Beurden E, Morgan PJ, Brooks LO, Beard JR (2010) Gender differences in motor skill proficiency from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study. Res Q Exerc Sport 81(2):162–170

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Goodway JD, Robinson LE, Crowe H (2010) Gender differences in fundamental motor skill development in disadvantaged preschoolers from two geographical regions. Res Q Exerc Sport 81(1):17–24

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Reed ES, Brill B (1996) The primacy of action in development. In: Latash ML, Turvey MT (eds) Dexterity and its development. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, pp 431–451

    Google Scholar 

  18. Bindman SW, Skibbe LE, Hindman AH, Aram D, Morrison FJ (2014) Parental writing support and preschoolers’ early literacy, language, and fine motor skills. Early Child Res Q 29(4):614–624

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Bauder D, Bauder D. Determining children’s assistive technology needs through video conferencing assessments. In: Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), 2013. p. 4302–4308. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/48801/. Accessed 4 Nov 2016

  20. Staples KL, Reid G (2010) Fundamental movement skills and autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 40(2):209–217

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Hardy LL, King L, Farrell L, Macniven R, Howlett S (2010) Fundamental movement skills among Australian preschool children. J Sci Med Sport 13(5):503–508

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Dishion TJ, Hogansen J, Winter C, Jabson J. The coder impressions inventory. Unpublished manual, Child and Family Center, Eugene, OR; 2004

  23. Graham JW (2009) Missing data analysis: making it work in the real world. Annu Rev Psychol 60(1):549–576

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Venetsanou F, Kambas A (2010) Environmental factors affecting preschoolers’ motor development. Early Child Educ J 37(4):319–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Ozmun JC, Gallahue DL (2016) Motor development. Adapt Phys Educ Sport E 6:375

    Google Scholar 

  26. Clark J (1994) Motor development. Encyclopedia of human behavior, vol 3. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 245–255

    Google Scholar 

  27. Stodden DF, Goodway JD, Langendorfer SJ, Roberton MA, Rudisill ME, Garcia C, Garcia LE (2008) A developmental perspective on the role of motor skill competence in physical activity: an emergent relationship. Quest 60(2):290–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Gallahue DL, Ozmun JC, Goodway JD (2012) Development of fundamental movement: manipulation skills. Underst Motor Dev 2012:194

    Google Scholar 

  29. Peyre H, Albaret J-M, Hoertel N, Melchior M, Forhan A, Taine M, Heude B, De Agostini M, Galéra C, Ramus F (2019) Developmental trajectories of motor skills during the preschool period. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 28(11):1461–1474

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Berkeley SL, Zittel LL, Pitney LV, Nichols SE (2001) Locomotor and object control skills of children diagnosed with autism. Adapt Phys Act Q 18(4):405–416

    Google Scholar 

  31. Rubin DA, Wilson KS, Wiersma LD, Weiss JW, Rose DJ (2014) Rationale and design of active play @ home: a parent-led physical activity program for children with and without disability. BMC Pediatr 14(1):1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Wasenius NS, Grattan KP, Harvey ALJ, Naylor P-J, Goldfield GS, Adamo KB (2017) The effect of a physical activity intervention on preschoolers’ fundamental motor skills—a cluster RCT. J Sci Med Sport 21:714

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Zask A, Kaye Adams J, Owen Brooks L, Frances HD (2012) Tooty fruity vegie: an obesity prevention intervention evaluation in Australian preschools. Health Promot J Austr 23(1):10–15

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Ku B, MacDonald M, Hatfield B, Gunter KB (2020) Parental influences on parent-reported motor skills in young children with developmental disabilities. Disabil Health J 13:100910

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Naber FBA, Poslawsky IE, van IJzendoorn MH, van Engeland H, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ (2013) Brief report: oxytocin enhances paternal sensitivity to a child with autism: a double-blind within-subject experiment with intranasally administered oxytocin. J Autism Dev Disord 43(1):224–229

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Goodway JD, Branta CF (2003) Influence of a motor skill intervention on fundamental motor skill development of disadvantaged preschool children. Res Q Exerc Sport 74(1):36–46

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Robinson LE, Goodway JD (2009) Instructional climates in preschool children who are at-risk. Part I: object-control skill development. Res Q Exerc Sport 80(3):533–542

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Valentini NC, Rudisill ME (2004) An inclusive mastery climate intervention and the motor skill development of children with and without disabilities. Adapt Phys Act Q 21(4):330–347

    Google Scholar 

  39. Belsky J (1984) The determinants of parenting: a process model. Child Dev 55(1):83–96

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Ku B, Heinonen GA, MacDonald M, Hatfield B (2019) An inquiry into how parents of children with autism spectrum disorder interact with their children in a motor skill-based play setting. Res Dev Disabil 94:103494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2019.103494

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (R01 HD059838) awarded to the fourth author.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Education and Sports Science Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Byungmo Ku

  2. Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Jodi Dawn Stinson

  3. College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Megan MacDonald

  4. Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    Laura Lee McIntyre

Authors
  1. Byungmo Ku
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jodi Dawn Stinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Megan MacDonald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Laura Lee McIntyre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Byungmo Ku.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 7

Table 7 Model fits for the four longitudinal models
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ku, B., Stinson, J.D., MacDonald, M. et al. Parental Behavior Influences on Motor Skill Development in Young Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 54, 460–469 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01263-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-021-01263-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation