PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT. SEGUNDO CUATRIMESTRE.

2022

UNIT 1: BASICS, CONCEPTS AND DEVELOPMENT OF

PSYCHOMOTRICITY

INDEX:

- Intro to psychomotricity concept.

- Definition and functions of psychomotricity.
- Psychomotricity’s history
- Basics of psychomotricity

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOMOTRICITY CONCEPT:

The most intriguing of all the mysteries of the universe it is probably the one that resides
in our own person:

HOW DOES MY MIND WORK?

Is there a little person inside my head that thinks for me?

Is there a lantern that illuminates the void when it turns on and then it switches off?
How does it relate to the body that apparently contains it?
Whence does it come?
Why does it exist?
How does it work?

Many philosophers throughout history have studied the relationship between physical
world, mental world, body, and mind.

How do mind and body interact? The concept of PSYCHOMOTRICITY is born. It

attempts to relate 2 elements: psyche (mental processes) + motorics (physical activities)

DEFINITION OF PSYCHOMOTRICITY:

Science that studies the interaction between the motor, psychic and affective of the human
being. Psychomotricity is an: educational / reeducative / therapeutic discipline, conceived
as dialogue, which considers the human being as a psychosomatic unity and acting
entirely through the body and movement, in the context of a warm and decentered
relationship, by active methods of mediation through the body, in order to contribute to
the overall development.

FUNCTIONS:

- Preventive, in order to detect and prevent psychomotor or emotional disorders in

high-risk populations and during the various stages of life, from childhood to old
age.

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 - Educational, to facilitate psychomotor maturation in the school curriculum
framework.

- Therapeutic, as a mean of psychomotor development intervention on emotional

and personality disorders and disturbances, according to a therapeutic project
carried out on the basis of a diagnosis.

HISTORY OF PSYCHOMOTRICITY:

1. Aristotle 384 BCE – 322 BCE, the mind has no relationship with the body and the
senses.

2. “MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO” is a Latin quote that comes from the
Satires of Juvenal. Classical Greece, the mind, and the body as 2 separate entities
are conceptualized.

3. Descartes (XVII century) the body is a mechanism driven by the spirit.

4. Gall and Spurzheim (XVIII century) parents of phrenology considered the brain
as structures that showed a progressive development.

5. Wernicke (1848 – 1904) divides the brain into 2 parts: the anterior / motor, and
the posterior / sensory. He claims that the motor cortex is what creates movement
concepts.

6. Liepmann (1900) studies the apraxia, defends the separation of learned motor acts
and the psychological processes that initiate them.

7. H. Jackson (1835 – 1911) supports the functional symmetry and representational

hierarchy of psychic phenomena essential for psychomotor acquisitions.

8. In 1907 Dupré formulated the concept of the Psychomotricity as a result of his

work on mental weakness and motor weakness.

He explains motor disorders because of immaturity, delayed or arrested

development of a system, highlighting the parallelism between mental activity
and motor activity.

9. H. Wallon in 1925 in “the wild child” (L´enfant turbulent) analyzes the stages and
mental and psychomotor development disorders.

“Emotions are supported by muscle tone” tried to show the interaction between
mental functions and motor functions, the fusion between the psychic and the
physical.

10. Guilmain (1935) studied and classified evidence evaluating motor development
and motor skills.

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 The objective of the psychomotor evaluation is to gather information about the
three called functions; postural, sensorimotor, and intellectual activity.

Psychomotor reeducation raises at three levels: the tonic activity, the activity
relation, and the motor domain.

11. Ajuriaguerra concluded that motor weakness can not be considered an

instrumental deficit caused by injury or malfunction of a cortical or subcortical
system.

Motor weakness must be classified in a new category of purely motor deficit.

Tone and posture: are the lines of communication between mother and child.

These ideas represent the scientific substrate for the implementation of the
psychomotor approach as a form of rehabilitation or specific therapy.

12. Vygotsky: child development is connected with a deep change with respect to the
stimuli that meet the needs that are supplied in the game.

13. Piaget: operational thinking and representation are accessed from the experience
of our body and the world.

14. Aleksandre R. Luria (1902 – 1977) sets in his working model three fundamental
functional units in which the work of the brain is built:

- First unit: is the neurological substrate for psychomotor factors of tonicity

and balance.

- Second unit: forms the neurological substrate for psychomotor factors of

the notion of the body, lateralization, and the spatiotemporal structure.

- Third unit: includes the neurological substrate for psychomotor factors of

global and fine praxia

The three functional units do not work in isolation but together, not being
possible to address only the perception or memory, if it’s organized on the
second unit, or the organization of the motor if it’s in the third unit.

Sciences in which psychomotricity is based: Psychology, neurophysiology, and

psychoanalysis.

15. In 1963 the Psychomotor Rehabilitation Certificate is created in France,

representing the public and institutional recognition of motor skills. In our country
it is a science that feeds in different disciplines.

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General objective of the Psychomotricity

Developing or restoring the individual abilities by a body approach through movement,

posture, gesture, and action.

We could even say that aims to reach the body via the development of different skills and
potential of the subject in all aspects:

BASICS OF PSYCHOMOTRICITY:

- Children use their psychomotricity in daily life through games.

- Children use it while running, jumping, playing with the ball.

- How do they do it? What do they feel? What do they live?

- Psychomotricity is applied through games in order to develop coordination,

balance, and spatial orientation among others. Through these games children will
improve gross and fine motor skills, spatial and temporal perception, laterality,
etc.

THE ROLE OF PSYCHOMOTRICITY IN CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Encourages the cognitive, effective, and social development of children

enhancing their relationship with the environment and taking in account the
individual differences, needs and interests.

• At motor level: the child will improve his body movement.

• At cognitive level: the child will improve his memory, span, concentration, and
creativity.

• At social and affective levels: the child will arise awareness about himself and
will be able to confront his fears and improve the relationship with others.

MOTOR ACQUISITION IS BASED ON THE FOUR LAWS OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Cephalocaudal law
2. Proximodistal law
3. From general to specific law
4. And flexors/extensors development law

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 MAJOR MOTOR SKILLS ACQUIRED DURING CHILHOOD MOTRICITY

Every movement is bonded with the psyche that produces it

COMPONENTS OF THE PSYCHOMOTRICITY:

1. Body image

2. Spatial and temporal perception

Are based on the processes of:

- Spatial-temporal control and adjustment (of and for movement)

• Temporal control: the reproduction of rhythm and adjustment of

rhythm

o The movement in its origin is attuned with the rhythm

o The mother swings with the baby in arms and this way
communicates the muscular tone of the mother and the
baby and also communicates the affective state
establishing a tonic-affective dialogue

o The transmission of tonic-affective states is the primitive

dialogue which will guide the maturing process of the
child. The limbic system is responsible for developing a
proper rocking

o From the beginning of our existence the rhythm-affective-

movement are the inseparable and indispensable elements
in the maturing process

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 o The maturing process leads to codify the rhythm in such a
way that a rhythmic structure is a group of elements that is
attributed by verbal mediation with a numbering

o This rhythm transposition measures the ability to group and

form structures and verbal mediation component appears
on the front maturing process.

o The maturing of rhythm for writing: writing is rhythm

Rhythm
and
language Rhythms language
goes in representation (7-8 years
Rhythmic
Experience through the (6-7 years old)
echo (5-6
rhythm ear. old) The
y.o.)
through Graphomotor The rhythm
body (4-5 Rhythmic closest becomes
skills main
y.o.) echo allows step to part of the
goal to use
Child starts this audio writing tongue
the Language
to respond to motor and the
as a symbol.
outer mechanism language
stimuli. mature

• Spatial control

o Verbal space: learning of verbal descriptions regarding

spatial position respect to others and others respect to
oneself

o Specific space: control and adjustment to a specific

distance no matter how many phases

o Symbolic space: performance of paths with symbolic

assignments to reference points

o Semiotic space: internalization of routes and paths

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- Integration of body image

o Reaching an object involves the development of body image and

of other sensitive and neuromuscular elements

This development entails several stages:

when reaching an object is approachable and desired there is

neuronal activity

this means that surrounding space is part of the own body

activity and that we develop body image through
motivational and affective aspects

with the acquisition of language, body image gains specific

names for each of its parts

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 The body activity in the space causes the internalization of axis
and planes that belong to the representation of Euclidian space.

The body acquires the representation of the different functional

possibilities of movement of each limb regarding axis and planes of the
movement in general.

- Process of language learning

3. Laterality

4. Coordination

About laterality and coordination, both are based on the processes of:

5. Language

Verbal mediation begins with:

o The response to parents oral orders

o Or the response to the rules of a game in order to lately evolve to
control by means of inner language

This is the internalization of external language.

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Stimulation-response behaviour does noy disappear; selectively changes according to
the importance in the speech and medium and long-term milestones.

6. Affectivity

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 UNIT 2. ASPECTS AND CONTENTS OF PSYCHOMOTRICITY

INDEX:

- Body schema
- Time and space perception
- Laterality
- Coordination
- Language
- Affectivity

BODY SCHEMA:

CONCEPT

Body schema refers to the mental representation of the possibilities and positions that
our body parts are able to adopt (Haggard and Wolpert, 2011)

It is the purely cognitive concept (knowledge) of the body. It is related with the
language that reflects the generally accepted anatomy, morphology, biophysics, etc. of
the body.

Remember: I might have a good body concept, but my body awareness (body schema)
not be good.

The organization of the sensory inputs that are received from the body (mainly tactile,
visual, and proprioceptive) in relation with the data coming from the outer world is
crucial for the development of the child thus this organization is the starting point for
the several possibilities of action (Shilder, 1935).

Therefore, body schema is a mental representation of the spatial possibilities/ features of

the own body that includes the length of the body parts, their location in space or the
shape of the body surface.

Body schema is well developed at the age of 10-12 years old.

CHARACTERISTICS

A) Updatable

- Our own body's mental representation updates/changes with movement.

- The new positions of the body parts in space are recorded through the
"body image" so the brain turns on, providing constantly information
about the sensations produced by the new positions in relation to the old
positions. (Head, 1912)

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 B) Adaptable

- Body schema adapts to allow the spatial changes that happen to the
body. Body schema might change in a very short period of time.

- E.g.: The growth of children. A new activity learning through new

objects never used before.

C) Interpersonal

- Body image is needed for the own body representation and for the
knowledge of other people’s body.

D) Body schema receives information from several channels

- Body image is created from the information received from multiple

channels: visual, tactile, proprioceptive mainly, but also olfactory, taste
(more important in the first stages of development).

BODY AWARENESS

- Neurologists’ definition:

Body schema has been defined as the postural model of the body, and as the
model of the surface of the body, existing as neural mechanisms of perception
and motor coordination

- Psychologists’ definition:

o “Body schema” is more or less the same as “body image” but more
complex

o it would be the knowledge of the own body, present at the boders of

consciousness, or functioning unconsciously.

o This knowledge is used while:

• moving in a room with things and people,

• without a focal awareness of the routes to take

• or the dimensions of the body,

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STAGES IN REEDUCATION

1. Global perception of the body, of its unit and its position in space.

o In this period, the different positions of the whole body in space and the
different kinds of displacements (rolling over, creeping, crawling,
walking, running) are worked at the same time.

2. First space notions acquisition.

o From first positions of the body in space, the child begins to distinguish
some positions and movements of his limbs.

- Raising awareness of gesture’s space

- Body knowledge

TIME AND SPACE PERCEPTION

Space and time are the framework and foundations on which the logic of our world is
based.

Organization and structure of space and time are learned through a process that is
included in the psychomotor development and become the basis for the knowledge
improvement and for the participation in individual and social activities.

The relationships among objects, persons and actions or events build the world, its
events and its essence.

Time and space are inseparable; time is related with the coordination of movements as
space is related with the coordination of positions. Thus, it is said that time is the space
in movement. (Berruezo, 2003).

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SPATIAL PERCEPTION

Organizing our space means

- To know where to place respect to some reference points

- To integrate at the same time the different elements that are part of it
- Building the relationships existing between those elements and us.

These subject-object relationships establish and define a more or less complex world on
the topological plane (the place of objects or elements regarding others); on the
projective plane (objects might be connected no matter our point of view); and on the
Euclidean plane (metric measure of distances and coordinates regarding objects) (Rigal,
2006).

Therefore, the relationship between subject and object or components of the space may
be described in several manners:

• Topological space: next to, in, out, up, down, between, on, under, around, close
to, far from, close, open, in the middle, on the edge, at the end, etc.

• Projective space: from here, from there, from my place, in line, in front of,
behind, to the right/left of, above, below, etc.

• Euclidean space: close to (more, less, much); far from (more, less, much); meter,
kilometer, steps; depth; length; width; etc.

In the development of spatial perception, it is also developed the spatial orientation

which is related to perception and direct use of the information coming from the
environment (e.g.: to find a road in an unknown place); and spatial structure in which
we reflect about perceptive data to imagine and represent something new (e.g.: to
prepare the next round playing battleship game).

The child find difficulties in learning new spatial notions given that he lives immediate
perceptive experiences until 7 years of age in which he does not analyze or reflect on
this matter. The child is “captive” of the world in which he lives: everyone lives and
experiences the same as him which limits his capacity to visualize or consider abstractly
other possibilities.

- The notion of space grows and diversifies progressively during the development
of psychomotor skills.

- The notion of space grows always from close to far and from inside to outside.
In other words, the first step is the differentiation of the “body self” with respect
to the physical outer world. Once the differentiation of the “body self” is done,
the inner space will develop independently in the form of body image; and the
outer space in the form of the space around him and where the action occurs.

- The notions of space, space relationships and spatial orientation are developed
guided by the nervous system maturing and are directly determined by quantity
and quality of the experiences the child has lived (Picq y Vayer, 1977).

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TIME PERCEPTION

- Time is closely linked to space. We start to notice “time” through the speed. In
this regard, slow-fast notion is learned before before-after notion which is purely
temporal.

Time is the space movement, and it is internalize through the duration of the
gesture and the speed of the movement execution.

Before six years of age the child does not know how to use time concepts as
independent ideas from space perception, and therefore, he cannot operate with
them.

- The notion of time, as a concept or idea, matured through the perception,

experience and comprehension. It requires a remarkable cognitive development
by which only the 7-8- years-old-child will start to understand the notions of
time.

Basic notions of time:

A) Order:

When we talk about “order” we are referring to the succession or chronological

distribution of changes that happen in an event. There is only “order” if there are
several changes in a period of time.

To understand order in a sequence we have to learn the difference between what

happens simultaneously (at the same time) from what happens successively (one
after another).

The learning of the concept of order involves knowing terms such as: before,
after, firstly, furthermore, the third, etc.

B) Duration:

Duration is the quality used to quantify time; it measures the length of an

interval happening between two points of reference of which one represents the
beginning and the other one represents the end of an event.

Terms used in duration are: second, minute, hour, day, week, month year, in the
morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night, early, soon, late, long, short,
etc.

The concept of duration is linked with the concept of speed, of which children
have a very intuitive knowledge (e.g.: if I pass someone running, I go faster, and
if I get passed i run slower). So, other terms that are related with duration
regarding speed are slow and fast (time pass slow or fast).

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 C) Rhythm:

Rhythm is the regular or periodic repetition of a particular structure, i. e. the

sequence or ordered group of a certain number of stimuli.

For a structure to be considered rhythmical it has to contain several elements.

Rhythm is an essential element of movement (e.g.: walking). Human movement

may be attuned to a rhythm. Sequences of movement happen in a particular
order, a rhythm. There are movements like the heartbeat, the breathing, the pulse
in the veins, that have their own rhythm and that are the guide for our own vital
rhythm.

LATERALITY:

Laterality is the preference for a more usual and effective use of a half of the body over
the other half. This concept leads to the notion of midline or body axis. Midline is the
imaginary line that crosses our body from head to feet dividing it in two equal halves.

Midline has motor, spatial and perceptive implications. The integration of the midline
makes possible the acquisition of laterality allowing the child to recognize right and left
of his body and after that to project these references on the others and the world. This is
how we organize the space, and we are able to orientate in it.

Body laterality allows the organization of spatial references, orientating the body in
space and the objects regarding the own body. Therefore, body laterality facilitates
perceptive integration processes and the construction of the body image (Le Boulch,
1987).

The dominant half is more precise, has more strength, developes more coordination and
balance than the other half of the body (Mayolas, 2011).

DEVELOPMENT OF LAYERALITY

- At birth: Laterality is determined in the moment of birth, and it is related with

the predominant function of one of the two cerebral hemispheres.

Not all the dominance preferences are determined by the brain hemispheres, it
may also be influenced by cultural or social factors (e.g.: altered left-handed
during Franco’s dictatorship).

Final acquisition of laterality is what allow us effectively distinguish right from

left (although these are cognitive concepts). The only manner to raise awareness
about this distinction is practicing and experiencing sensorimotor activities.

- 4-5 months old, he/she starts to show some preference for one of his hands.
When he/she is 7 months old one hand is more skilled than the other one.

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 - Between 2 and 5 years old the child uses both parts of his/her body in a more
distinctive manner.

- From 5 to 7 years old the laterality is fixed with the acquisition and knowledge
of the notions of right and left.

The acquisition of laterality is one of the last milestones of the psychomotor

development; it requires the sensory and motor experiences and the development
of thought to be achieved.

TYPES OF LATERALITY:

- Right-handedness-footedness (right hand, foot, eye, ear)

- Left-handedness-footedness (left hand, foot, eye, ear)
- Ambidexterity: when a person has approximately equal skill with both hands
and/or both sides of the body.
- Crossed dexterity: right-handed but left-footed; left- handed butrfight-footed.
Trained?

TYPES OF DOMINANCE:

- Hand
- Foot
- Eye
- Ear

COORDINATION:

Motor coordination is the possibility that allow us to execute actions that involve
several types of movements in which several organs, joints, muscles intervene and at the
same time inhibit others.

Coordination is based on a good body schema (mainly through the postural control, the
implication of reactions for balance and the experience of the different parts of the body
in movement); which in turn develops the perception of time, since the movements are
produced in a particular space and a particular sequence, with a certain order and
rhythm for the little movements that form an action.

We are going to describe 2 important parts of the motor coordination:

A) General dynamic coordination

This kind of coordination refers to movements that involve simultaneous and

reciprocal actions of several parts of the body and that in most of cases

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 displacements are involved (Le Boulch, 1986). It is also named overall
coordination.

General dynamic coordination activities would be walking, jumping, running.

B) Eye-motor coordination:

These are movements that are adjusted by the visual perception mechanisms that
integrate the perceived data to execute a movement e.g.: writing skills.

The visual perception of a steady object or a moving object is going to guide the
precise execution of movements e.g.: reaching the object or hitting it with the
foot.

An important part of the visomotor coordination is the relationship established

between the eyes and the hands (because of the high frequency it happens when
we develop physical activities). That is why this type of coordination is also
called eye-hand coordination.

LANGUAGE:

Psychomotor development is important because it's the basis for the acquisition of skills
from other areas of development (social or interpersonal, language and communication)
and writing skills.

Almost every baby, excepting those with a specific condition, when is born is able to
learn language, the one from its parents in a fast and spontaneous way. But if the child
is deprived from learning the language in the first years, every later acquisition is going
to have difficulties and in some cases is going to be impossible (Seguí y Ferrand, 2000).

For mastering writing skills symbolic coding abilities and psychomotor skills are
needed.

These graphic abilities are developed through childhood, ie, these abilities change from
their origin to maturity. They are shown in the draws and in the writing because of the
implication if the chain of movements needed to represent the word or written text.

Authors like Acounturier (1985) and Arnáiz (1988), think of the motor development
together with the play as very important elements to develop listening skills, for what
they consider psychomotor development as fundamental for the development of verbal
and non-verbal communication.

Inside this practice the child use gestures, gazes, the voice, mimics, smile, etc.

Personal interactions that take place in the school between students and teachers play a
crucial role in the development of language.

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While interacting with the environment the child uses the basic mechanisms of
preverbal communication using his whole body as means of expression and
communication. The child evolves little by little to a more differentiated vocal activity
that improves very much during the first year of life. At the end of this period the child
understands words and expressions that cannot produce.

The functions of language that were described by Halliday (1975), allow to classify by:
interaction of the child with himself, interaction with others and interaction with the
world.

AFFECTIVITY:

For Salvatierra – Cuenca et al (2013), the main tool for the psychomotor development
of the child is going to be his relationship with the environment; therefore, the
relationships with the parents, relatives and other people around are going to be basic
for the emotional development.

Psychomotor development is connected with human relationships; "the social being" is

characterized by desires and demands reciprocity (response and affectivity feelings).

The child has to go through several stages from first attachments established with the
main and close human references until the acquisition of routines, concepts and
behaviour rules that will allow him adapt to a complex social environment.

1) Indiscriminate attachment stage: primary necessities like feeding and sleep and the
situations created for him as the schedule for different activities and hygiene.

2) Specific attachment stage: first affective attachments, between 4 and 6 months of age.
The infant is able to recognize familiar faces from those who are new, and this can
produce fear (stranger fear) and anxiety (separation anxiety). It is the stage of the first
relationships of object, or stable affective bond which will lead to later effective
relationships.

His participation in actions during the day is going to shape vital features of his
personality because of the effects the behaviors around him. The introduction to "no",
satisfaction, development of frustration tolerance and adaptation to negative and
positive emotions are going basic concepts that will shape his personality.

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 UNIT 3: CHILD PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT: 0-12 MONTHS

INDEX:

- Introduction
- Psychomotor development
- Evolution of the graphic expression
- Evolution of the writing grasp
- Development of the occupations of the child

INTRODUCTION:

Laws of development:

- Cephalocaudal law: upper parts of the body star to function before than lower
parts, i.e., head movements are controlled before leg movements.

- Proximodistal law: Parts of the body closer to the midline mature before those
further to midline. Thus movements of the shoulders are controlled before arms
movements, and arms movements before hands.

- General-specific law: global or general movements are previous to localized,

precise and coordinated movements. When a baby wants to reach an object it
uses wide and uncoordinated movements, and as it develops it gains more
precision and efficient movements.

Myelination process:

Myelination - development of a fatty layer around nerve cells- is the starting point for
the conduction system of nervous signals. This development has several stages. At
birth, myelination only reaches subcortical centers, and thus the newborn behaves
automatically.

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PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT:

New born (0-10 days)

• POSITION: The head is not supported by itself, and the limbs cannot be
extended because of the hypertone of the flexor muscles so they are close to the
body. In the prone position, the baby is in the fetal position with upper and
lower limbs in flexion

• HEARING: The newborn is able to perceive sound but not to hear them. It is
sensitive to intensity and seems not to localize the source. Soft music and
mother's voice soothe it.

• SIGHT: The newborn can focus on a luminous point although it will only see a
blurry image. It might frown the eyelids when the light changes in the room or
when there is a high-pitched noise.

• TASTE: Taste is highly developed since the moment of birth. The baby prefers
sweet instead of acid, salty or bitter.

• TOUCH: The contact with the skin and the heat (mostly from the mother) are a
very strong stimulus. Through the skin, the baby senses all the mother's
vibration and experiences all the feelings she transmits.

• OLFACTORY: It has been reported that the baby makes a gesture when it
senses a strong and unpleasant smell.

1st QUARTER

0.1 HYPOTONE/HYPERTONE

GENERAL

• Motricity is still primary, and movements of the limbs are controlled by archaic
reflexes.

• Tone has improved as muscles have gained strength; the baby is less fragile than
at birth.

• In prone position the baby does not make a functional use of its arms. In this
position baby tends to flex the hips and to raise the pelvis which displaces the
body weight towards the upper limbs inhibiting its movements.

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POSITION/GRASPING

• The head is still weak; if it is placed vertically the head will fall forwards or
backwards. Limbs are still in fetal position. Mobility of upper limbs increases
gradually although they are initiated by shoulders and elbows.

• Grasping reflex prevails. Despite the fact that during this month the hand
opens and closes and is able to grasp objects as a result of the grasping
reflex, the baby has no control yet over these movements.

SENSORY/LANGUAGE

• SIGHT: sight is still inexpressive. From fourth week, the baby is able to stare at
an object placed in front of it and track it up to 90o. The baby becomes attracted
by the light although an excess might be harmful.

• HEARING: It hears properly but does not localize the source. It reacts against
loud noises. It gets calm when listens to music.

• LANGUAGE: The baby emits sounds of emotional character. Crying is a way

of communication. It is recommended to speak frequently to the baby as it
perceives the affective burden of mother language which is very stimulant.

0.2 REFLEXES REDUCTION

GENERAL

• The baby is more sensitive to its close environment. Mimics is particularly

expressive, which makes it more active and lively. At the age of 2 months, it
smiles more frequently.

• It has been reported that a colorful world, more stimulant and exciting, would
foster development.

• Gessel said: "visual experience of luminous colors is as important for the child
as food for the stomach ... also, a strong cry can be calmed by showing the baby
a brightly colored cushion".

GRASPING/TOYS

• Grasping reflex decreases

• The baby is able to localize toys and hit them, but not reach and grasp them
voluntarily

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 • Hand-eye coordination starts. Fingers extension appears more frequently but
associated with extension of the elbow, and flexion of the fingers happens with
flexion of the elbow.

• If a rattle is placed in its hand, the baby is able to hold it, and it will be dropped
without the baby noticing.

• It is recommended to hang mobiles over the crib, or on the ceiling; hang colored
ribbons, show rattles, etc.

POSITION

• Lying down, the head is usually supported on one side.

• The baby raises the head sometimes 45o from the plane (prone position)

• The weight of the body has displaced to the chest, which will stimulate
proprioceptively to use its arms and raise the trunk and the head.

• Although , the baby does not have enough control of the shoulder girdle to
assume and maintain the weight of the body.

• Being seated the back is lightly straight but is still weak, and the head can be
straight but unsteady.

SENSORY/LANGUAGE

• SIGHT: The baby is able to maintain the gaze, converge and it is able to track a
big object or person moving around it. Brightly colored objects and lights draw
its attention in a powerful manner. When several objects are presented, it is able
to look at just one.

• HEARING: The baby is able to localize the source of noise and shows interest
for the different sounds.

• LANGUAGE: the baby emits some vocalizations. These are vocal sets formed
only by the mouth, and that have not been nasalized yet (related with a
connection with the sucking reflex). Most of the time, it communicates through
crying.

22
0.3 EYE-HAND-MOUTH COORDINATION

GENERAL

• The infant is more sensitive to the world around it.

• It is a bit more self-sufficient. It cries less, vocalizes during longer periods and
expresses more through mimics.

• First socialization happens at this age: it looks for faces and appreciates having
company.

• The baby can play during periods of 35-40 minutes.

0.3 SYMMETRIC SUPPORT ON ELBOWS

POSITION

• At this age some of the primitive reflexes disappear because of a nervous system
that is maturing

• Changing from reflex movement to voluntary control of the muscles is

translated into the baby seems to be less agile.

• Now it is able to raise the head supporting the weight on the elbows in prone
position. The angle of the head with the plane of the bed is 45- 90º.

• The hands are used for support.

0.3 SENSORYAL AWAKENING

GRASP

• Grasping reflex has almost disappeared; catch phase or holding phase starts.

• The baby shows interest and desire for objects, but it is not able to reach
them yet.

• The baby is able to coordinate the movements of arms and legs of both sides.
First dissociated movements appear. Some authors have reported that is the
moment in which bilateral coordination of upper limbs start.

• The baby uses its hands to explore its body, mouth, clothes, and the caregiver.
This experience is needed to develop tactile sense and to decrease the intensity
of the grasping reflex.

23
SENSORY-LANGUAGE

• SIGHT: the baby can turn completely the head to track an object that displaces.
It shows interest for its own body. It can look at further objects, and change the
gaze from one object to another.

• HEARING: the baby is able to localize precisely the source of noise. It shows
more interest for human language.

• LANGUAGE: the baby communicates more when someone show interest for it.
After using vowels, it starts using consonants. It progressively pronounces k and
g, and with a bit more difficulty b and p.

TOYS

2ND QUARTER

0.4 EVERYTHING TO THE MOUTH!

GENERAL

• The body of the baby is solid as it has better tone and shows vigor.

• It is able to change suddenly the position of the body in space and needs
vigilance to avoid falling

• It can sleep 12 hours in a row and wakes up without crying.

• It likes to explore the objects so it will take them to the mouth.

24
GRASP

• Muscle control of the shoulder girdle improves (it gains strength and
coordination); therefore the variety of movements of the shoulder and elbow
increase.

• Although the control of the arm is limited, the baby is able to reach different
parts of the body.

• Its use of the hands is more skilled. It uses both hands indistinctly. It plays with
its hands in the middle, so it can play longer with a rattle; it observes it, shakes
it, but often looses it.

• It tries several times to perform grasping movements toward an object that

someone gives it. It cannot pass the object from one hand to the other, or
manipulate the object; it shakes the object or moves it with the flexor-extension
movements of the elbow.

• As the baby cannot manipulate it, it will take the object to the mouth in order to
explore size, texture and shape. This way, the high sensitivity of mouth and
tongue decrease.

• Motor control in the distal part of the body is less developed than proximal parts
of the body.

SENSORY/LANGUAGE

• SIGHT: Its visual ability is close to the adult’s; the accommodation allows it to
see objects at different distances and perceive perfectly the small details. Its
attention span is longer.

• HEARING: the auditory acuity is well acquired.

• LANGUAGE: It presents a variety of intonations. It forms long melodies by

combining vowels and consonants.

• TOYS: The baby is eager for manipulating so it will like each toy or object. The
selection of toys would be as the previous month.

25
0.4 SWIMMING!

POSITION

• The baby uses elbows for support and thorax and head raises at 90o from the
plane.

• Pelvis extended; it seems to “swim” constantly repeating movements of flexo-

extension of all of its limbs.

• While being seated it maintains the head straight.

0.5 VOLUNTARY GRASP

GENERAL

• The body is solid.

• It is the month of the voluntary grasping, a crucial acquisition for the infant and
its independence. It wants to manipulate everything!

• Cause/effect relationship begins to develop.

GRASP/SIGHT

• Voluntary grasping appears: the infant is able to voluntarily grasp objects that
are in front of him and take them to the mouth.

• This is a palmar, global, and imprecise: the baby grasps a big object with the
palm and the last three fingers.

• Reaching objects while it is in the supine position shows a better eye-hand

coordination. The sight is important for reaching the objects and orientating the
body toward it.

• Bilateral coordination is more usual in this period (more than before). The wrist
and the fingers in the metacarpophalangeal joint extend with a vague distal
flexion.

• Sight gives feedforward information, while touch provides feedback

information. The sight helps to orientate the hand before and during grasping.
The tactile information is used to adjust the hand for the grasping..

26
 • Mouth and tongue are usually used to explore texture, size and shape beside
other features. In this stage, and in supine position, taking objects to the mouth
is the most significant function of manipulation.

0.5 SUPPORTING ON THE WRISTS

• The baby displays great activity: it can extend arms and legs supporting his
weight with the thorax with a swimming movement.

• The infant can raise the head and a great part of the trunk supporting on the
wrists.

• Head control is almost completely developed: it can extend, rotate and lateral
flex. Head and trunk movements begin to dissociate.

0.6 ROLLING OVER

GENERAL

• This is the month in which first teeth appear; therefore, the baby sucks with
more intensity as the gums burn and cause discomfort.

• Exploring the body continues. The baby is sensitive to voice, intonation,

volume; a rude or sharp word stops its activity. On the contrary, it shows interest
for songs, music, melodies; they stimulate its development.

• Rolling over starts; one more step toward independence.

• Rolling over starts when one of the arms crosses the midline in order to reach an
object that is on the other side and this object cannot be reached with the arm of
the same side. It is spontaneous and happens suddenly.

• In the prone position the baby raises with the support on the hands and takes the
head backwards. Thorax and stomach are above the plane of the bed.

• Muscle control has improved notably, and the control of the head is complete.
Prone position is very functional and mobile.

27
0.6 GLOBAL VOLUNTARY GRASPING ACQUIRED

GRASP

• Unilateral reaching increases, the dissociation between the two limbs is more
and more evident. Palmar-radial grasp is more used.

• If the baby does not know the object, the fingers will be extended and abducted
and afterwards, with the tactile and visual information, it adjusts the hand to the
object.

• The baby is able to grasp an object and explore it with the other hand, but most
of the times the object is explored with the tongue and the mouth. The baby uses
the mouth or the face to stabilize the object and then change the hand that holds
it.

• Global voluntary grasping is acquired.

• The baby is able to hold two cubes and look at a third cube that is on the table.
The baby rubs with a spoon or fork the table.

0.7 BABBLE

LANGUAGE

• Between 6th and 7th months is the age of the babble.

• The infant chains syllables, changing the volume, and with more control over its
vocal expressions.

• The baby is aware of the different tones it can use, and this encourages it to use
them more.

TOYS

• Toys for sucking, toys to hang over the crib, rattles, music boxes, rings, keys,
etc.

28
3RD QUARTER

0.7 SEVERAL POSTURES!

GENERAL

• It likes to be seated or lying face down; it likes to play with its feet and with
toys.

• Its affectivity increases its fears: it fears new places, strange people, etc

• It has the urgent need to use its hands: high point for manipulation.

• Most of the infants are very active and they turn against gravity, roll over, put in
quadruped position, etc. Prone position and quadruped are its favorite
positions; these postions give it indenpendence and functionality

POSITION

• Supine position limits the possibilities to reach objects and its body and
manipulate them.

• The baby is able to maintain the position while seating, and uses the hands to
avoid falling. In the supine position it is able to grasp its feet.

• The baby develops enough trunk control and dissociation of the shoulder girdle
to move in all directions and look for toys.

• Often, when the baby grasps an objects rolls to the side in order to play with the
object and take it to the mouth.

• Most of the infants are very active and they turn against gravity, roll over, put on
four legs position, etc. Prone position and on all fours are its favorite positions;
these postions give it indenpendence and functionality

0.7 THE ART OF LETTING GO!

GRASP

• The manipulation is very involved in the play activity. The increased visual
control and the improvement of the hands allow it to explore little toys and
objects.

29
 • The infant tries to reach objects with low pincer grasp (with the base of a finger
and thumb).

• It is able to hold an object when another object is offered. The baby is also able
to pass the object from one hand to another and hit it.

• Now it is able to voluntary let go the object, as it is gaining control over the
flexors of the hand.

• From now the baby is delighted throwing objects to the floor and listen how it
sounds.

0.8 VERTICALIZATION STARTS!

GENERAL

• Thanks to the ability of reaching while seating the infant progress another step
toward independence.

• It can roll over, which is a very attractive game for the infant.

• It likes to throw the objects to the floor to listen how they sound.

• The infant is still dependent on the mom, and if it is not with her it will cry until
she is there. Emotional instability appear. This period is called separation
anxiety of the 8th.

POSITION

• The trunk’s tonicity allows sitting more balanced and without other supports.

• The infant is able to sit from the supine or prone position without help.

• Postural stability is maintained because of the abduction and external rotation of

both lower limbs.

• At this age, most of infants do not like to be in the supine position. The infant
does not stay in the same position for a long time.

• The desire for exploration makes them try to stand up.

30
MANIPULATION/TOYS

• The infant at this age is very busy exploring the environment.

• It grabs objects abducting the thumb from the rest of the fingers (Lower pincer).
This skill is used to pick small objects, manipulate them, explore the with the
sight and the tactile sense, and take them to the mouth.
• The infant is able to grab a third object letting go one. It likes to horizontally hit
two objects and listen to the noise.

• TOYS: The same as before. This is a good moment to offer a doll (bear, fabric,
blanket, etc). This small mate will be the presence of its mom when she is not
there.

0.9 IT IS SUCH AN EXPLORER!

GENERAL

• Babies at this age are fascinated with new discoveries: toys that change, small
objects, toys with lights, etc. Crawling is the first displacement they achieve;
they also "climb".

• There is an active sensory-spatial exploration, which fascinates it.

• It is able to pick smaller objects due to the pincer between the thumb and the
second finger (index).

POSITION

• Standing up and trying to walk are primary impulses for the infant.

• Most of the effort is used to stand up with the support of the

• furniture around.

• Seating is a functional position. Trunk and pelvis are well- controlled, and
therefore the legs might adopt different positions.

• Being seated is a transition point in the way to other positions to explore the
environment

31
MANIPULATION/LANGUAGE

• At this age, difference in dexterity among babies increase: while some are more
active or are more focused on gross motor or fine motor activities, others like to
combine both kind of activities.

• The infant at this age detects a lot of stimuli in the environment and it has the
tools to explore them.

• The infant is able to grab objects that are far away with different movement
patterns; the infant is able to flex the shoulders to grasp objects over its head. A
more developed dissociation between arms and trunk allow the infant to start
pushing and holding objects

• The infant starts to adjust the grasp to the weight of the object.

• LANGUAGE: First words appear. These words are the result of repeating
syllables by a very simple phonetic material. The most characteristic example is
"mama".

TOYS

• The best toys for this age are those which allow the baby test their motor
possibilities. Cubes to put inside a bucket, colored balls, constructional toys (to
throw them) etc.

4TH QUARTER

10. PERFECTION IN SKILLS!

GENERAL

• Infants at this age are very occupied exploring actively the environment and
training their motor skills.

• They spend a lot of time "playing" with the concepts of "in" and "out".

• They say "bye" with the hand and clap.

• They crawl most of the time but they try to walk.

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GRASP

• Manipulating skills progress really fast. Although they like all kind of objects
and they have fun exploring them with eyes and hands, they enjoy the most
those that can be put inside others.

• They imitate gestures(clapping, saying good bye, kisses, etc).

• Dissociation of the fingers improve, and the second finger is more independent.

• Finger control is better when grasping than letting go, therefore they are more
efficient picking objects from a bowl than to putting them inside.

• Bilateral coordination are used for manipulation and exploration (eg: with
one hand it holds the box and the other hand picks the object).

LANGUAGE/TOYS

• LANGUAGE: the infant uses one-syllable and two-syllable words repeating

them several times. It understands the general sense of the sentence and usually
says a word with the gesture (bye: and moves the hand). Words mean a lot of
things. Is is the "symbolic word": it can say "water" to name any liquid; "dad"
for all the men; etc.

• TOYS: boxes, blackboards, fitting cubes, multicolored plastic rings, etc.

11. OBJECTS ARE NOT A CHALLENGE ANYMORE!

GENERAL

• The infant at this age uses its motor skills to improve its cognitive skills.

• Its visual memory is more developed than in prevoius months.

• It is able to stand up, walk around the furniture and climb it. It is able to stand up
and play with an object with both hands using the furniture for support.

• In the beginng the infant uses the furniture to balance but little by little it will be
able to stand up and manipulate without help.

• Regarding displacemnets, the infant crawls faster; it also uses “bear walk” using
the hands and the feet to displace around.

33
GRASP

• Infants are able to grasp the objects with the tips of the fingers, not with
whole hand as before. They enjoy collecting all the objects around and
putting them in a container and taking them out.

• They still enjoy letting the things fall and pick them up.

• They keep using the second finger to push thing inside small holes.

• They like to carry things while walking or crawling.

• They use both hands in some games, or to hit things, or to help when dressing,
etc.

• The like pointing at things and explore with the index small holes.

• They are able to throw a ball when sitting.

LANGUAGE/TOYS

• LANGUAGE: the baby uses a global and very significant language. Holophrase
stage: one word is a whole sentence. With gestures and the context the infant
will give meaning to the word and will improve its cognitive skills.

• The infant improves its expression and vocabulary listening the same words and
sentences for several times.

• TOYS: small books with pictures, different cubes, fitting toys, rings pyramid,
balls, etc.

12. DISCOVERING THE OCCUPATIONS

GENERAL

• Most of the babies at this age are very active and independent.

• Motor skills are acquired; now they perfected them using them in different ways.

• The objects around are used to learn about its features (shape, size, colour) and
to improve motor skills.

• Between 12 and 15 months of age thay are going to learn new abilities.

• Emotional interaction with the adult is better and richer.

34
POSITION/GRASP

• Little by little the infant will acquire the free walk. In the beginning it will need
chairs, walls, walkers, etc.

• Balance has improved when they are able to bend down to pick an object that is
on the floor without falling.
• The movements of the upper limb will be more and more dissociated.

• Bilateral manipulation is performed with “mirror movements”: picking two

cubes at the same time, grabbing two pencils, tearing paper, etc.

• Letting go is performed in a soft manner for big objects, but it is still clumsy for
small objects.

• They start ensembling things (e.g.: they place the circle in its place and first
scribbles if there is an adult doing it first). Thumb-index pincer: body schema is
developing due to the manipulations and these fingers have a great
representation in the brain cortex.

12. IMPROVED COMPREHENSION

LANGUAGE/TOYS

• LANGUAGE: holophrase stage (12-15 months old). The infant is able to

understang long sentences and respond with a gesture or an action (e.g: come
and kiss me, go and find the teddy bear, etc.)

• TOYS: They enjoy imitating domestic activities like dressing or cooking;

objects like pans or pots are of their favorite objects.

- The use of these objects is a challange and encourages the development

of perception and fine motor skills.

- Bottles and small balls to introduce; fitting cubes; books with cardboard
pages; small balls to thread.

- They like all kind of toys and containers are their favorites.

- They like challenges like putting pegs in a board, passing pages, etc.

35
UNIT 3.2: PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD: 1-6. GRAPHIC
EXPRESSION. OCCUPATIONS

INDEX:

- Psychomotor development 1-6 years

- Evolution of the graphic expression
- Development of the occupations of the child

PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT:

15. AUTONOMY DESIRE

GENERAL

• The infant demands to do things by himself.

• The infant desires to be independent but he is not self-sufficient.

• He uses the baby bottle to drink and likes to use the spoon although with
clumsiness.

• Locomotion impulse is very intense. The infant stands and walks without help
but his balance is poor and falls down frequently; climbs the stairs crawling;
he kneels without help.

GRASP/COMPREHENSION

• His ability to grasp and release objects has improved.

• His ability is more precise.
• His fine motor skills have improved a lot, which allows keeping himself
entertained and train his manipulative skills. The baby at this age:

o Introduces a small ball in a bottle

o Passes the pages of a book although they jump some of them

o Makes towers with small cubes

o Knows how to reproduce a trace that an adult has made in a sheet of

paper

36
LANGUAGE/TOYS

• LANGUAGE: the child perfects his global and meaningful vocabulary. He

orders the words by his significant importance, usually he is placed the first
one.

• TOYS: The infant shows the toys to others but not with the aim of socialization
but to get them back.

• It is important that the child trains the gait through pushing things and gaining
stability (push a chair, walker, etc.)

• Balls, spoons, cups, toys with removable pieces, crayons, pencils and papers.

18. RUN, BABY, RUN

GENERAL/MANIPULATION

• The infant shows a great vitality. He tends to run all the time.

• His vertical position is still a bit unbalanced; to keep balance while running he
has to separate his legs, needs pelvic anteversion and uses the arms.

• He perfects climbing stairs and bending down to pick things; He starts jumping
on both feet, and walking backwards, and they can kick a ball

• Gross motor skills have supremacy over fine motor skills.

• The infant uses the spoon to eat, being quite clean.

• He turns pages two by two.

• He can undress if the clothes have no buttoms or zips; He can take off his
shoes

COMPREHENSION/TOYS

• The infant likes books with pictures and identifies one or two images (e.g: cat
and dog).

• He knows the names of a couple of usual objects.

• He names 2 or 3 parts of the body (nose, eyes, mouth).

• He understands 1-2 directions and executes them.

37
 • He makes a tower of 3-4 cubes. Regarding fitting toys, He can fit 2 or 3
elements in a board.

• Control of the anal sphincter (during the day) with some irregularities.

• Language is more or less the same as when he was 15 months old, but with
some improvement (more vocabulary).

• The most popular toys are: balls, spoons, cups, toys with removable pieces,
pencils and papers

24. AUTOCRAZY

GENERAL/MANIPULATION

• He is an “age of transition”, “first rebellious age”. He wants to do everything

by himself.

• His motor behaviour is orientated toward gross motor activity although his fine
motor skills have improved.

• His independence has increased considerably: He climbs up and down the

stairs by himself; he runs fast; he jumps, climbs, dances, kicks a ball with
precision and balance.

• He manipulates first with one hand and then with the other.

• Occupations: He opens and closes the doors; He can clean and dry his face by
himself; He puts the shoes on; He is able to put a coat, a pair of trousers on
(unless it has buttons or zip).

• He can go by himself to the restroom but needs help to clean up; He is able to
eat by himself.

• He is able to make a 6-7 cubes tower. He is able to thread thick pearls.

COMPREHENSION

• He knows the meaning of 4 or 5 images; He names 4-5 usual objects, 4-5 parts
of his body, understands 2-3 directions.

• He knows one or two colours and can match objects of same colour.

• He can count until 3 or 4.

38
 • Control of the anal and bladder sphincters (during the day, some at night
also).

• He makes 6-8 cubes towers; He is able to fit 4 elements in the board; He can
make 3-4 pieces puzzles.

• Vocabulary explosition. He uses verbs and makes sentences.

• Trying to speak baby talk believing they are going to understand more is a
mistake.

TOYS

• Tales, books with pictures, postcards.

• Swings, games with sand.

• Playdough, fitting toys, color pencils, paint, papers.

• Toys to push (baby stroller, ...)

• Mobile toys: cars, trains, tricycles.

• Music for babies (songs), imitation games.

*Music is very important for the whole development of the child.

3 YEARS

GENERAL

• The child has more control over himself; He controls all postures and basic
movements.

• The child reachs his high point in motor skills.; He walks like an adult
(swinging the arms). He goes up and downstairs like an adult

• He jumps on one foot and is able to stay for longer periods on a foot; He drives
a tricycle;

• His manipulative skills are the drive for his independence: He eats by himself
without getting dirty; He dresses on his own; He draws; He helps with the
housework;

• He controls the anal and bladder sphincters during day and night;

39
 • He counts up to 6 or 8;He knows 3-7 colours

• He sings and dances some songs.

LANGUAGE

• The child masters the language and enunciates properly without confusion nor
substitution. He is the vocabulary explossion. A lot of questions are made.

• Stage of the egocentresim; He uses “I” and “me” all the time. New progressses
are achieved through imitation, automatically.

• He is recommended to play vocalization games in order to perfect particular

vocal sounds:

- Spanish: notice how the “j” (spanish phonema) makes the throat
vibrate (touch with our fingers). Play with the “r”: “R con R guitaRRa, R
con R Rail, R con R la Rueda, la Rueda del feRRocaRRil”

- Covering with the fingers the nostrils to feel better the sound for the
“m”.

- Imitating familiar sounds: the ball bouncing; the bird singing; the cat
snorting; the noise of a train

- Singing songs to imitate the gestures.

TOYS

• He is able to make a 8-9 cubes tower.

• He fits all the elements in the board

• He enjoys reflecting toys: puzzles, construction toys, fitting toys, etc. He enjoys
playing with his favorite toys for hours

• He might talk for a long period with an imaginary friend

• He enjoys playing outdoors: sledges, swings, balls...

• He likes to play with others but he is still egocentric

• Actual cooperation between children appears at the age of 6 years

40
4-5 YEARS

GENERAL

• The child throws the ball far away, kicks the ball with strength and far away
too.

• He goes upstairs with alternated feet.

• He jumps on one foot and is able to catch a ball with the hands.

• Fine motor skills is greatly developed: the child uses scissors to cut papers.

• He is able to copy images, words, geometric figures and numbers.

• He can sort objects by colour, size and shape.

• He dresses and undresses without help.

• He keeps asking all the time.

• He cleans his face, teeth and hands on his own.

• Laterality is almost completely achieved which allows him to orientate in the

space (in front of, behind, big, small, near, far) and to consolidate the body
schema.

• He executes movements following a rhythm.

• He is able to say his full name, age, gender and count up to 10 (and more).

• He understands the body sensations as hunger, cold, tiredness, etc.

• He improves his socialization

5-6 YEARS

GENERAL

• General dynamic and eye-hand coordination have improved a lot. Also static
and dynamic balance are better.

• The child at this age climbs obstacles, slides through high slopes, likes to play
balance-unbalance, jumps from heights, etc.

• The gait has also improved.

• They combine different motor tasks: run and jump an obstacle; run and kick a
ball; throw a ball, bounce and catch it back; catch the ball without the help of the

41
 chest like before.

• They show interest for doing the motor activities in a proper manner. Perceptive
abilities of the object have been perfected.

• Functional independence is in its high point; He wants, beside dressing by

himself, to choose the clothes. He does the housework on his own, like picking
the plate from the table after eating and everything his parents allow.

• The desire to have a role starts: being nurse, or a pilot, or a teacher, etc.

• Laterality is consolidated: better orientation in space regarding other objects

and others: acquisition of writing

GRAPHIC EXPRESSION DEVELOPMENT, WIDLÖCHER

15-18 MONTHS

• Scribbles: the child writes many horizontal and inclined lines; they do not want
to represent, they play to trace

18 MONTHS – 2 YEARS

• The child is perfecting his motor skills. He wants to imitate the adult’s writing
and draws scribbles, that have different meaning depending on the affectivity of
the moment. The shape does not have a meaning value: it is the stage of the
random realism

42
3 YEARS

• Unachieved realism:

The representative technic is improved, the child leaves the scribble and tries to
draw. The child represents how he sees and feels the world. At this age
realism fails.

They represent a human being as a big head with eyes and legs. He can use the
circle.

4 YEARS

• At this age the draws try to evoke reality; cognitive realism (until 9 years of
age)

• Transparency is a characteristic of the draw that appears at this age: the inside
of houses are seen; the sea is seen with his fishes; there are many details, all of
them very significant for the child.

• The representation of the human being, the child adds the trunk, the hands, the
feet (sometimes the hair)

• He can use the square and the rectangle.

5 YEARS

• Since the age of 5 years, the child uses the triangle

• They add more elements to the composition

• Until the age of 9 years, the child learns to reproduce reality.

9 YEARS

• It is the stage of visual realism

• The child abandons transparency and start to use perspective

43
OCCUPATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

FEEDING

7 – 8 months. He eats with the fingers

10 – 12 months. He starts using the spoon

1-2 years. He can hold a cup and drink from it without help, they use the spoon more
efficiently

2-3 years. He becomes efficient with the spoon, fork and cup 4-5 years. He can eat
soup with spoon

5-8 years. He can cut the meat with a knife

DRESSING

1-2 years. The child takes off the socks, shoes and hat. 2-3 years. The child undresses.
He puts the t-shirt on...

3-4 years. The child dresses. He buttons big ones. He zips when both ends are together.

5-6 years. He is independent, except for some zips at the back and belts.

BATHING AND CLEANING

1-2 years. He shows interest in helping to clean some parts of the body. 2-3 years. He
cleans his hands and face with supervision. He helps to brush his teeth.

3-4 years. He combs his hair and brush his teeth without help.

5-6 years. He is able to take a shower alone but needs supervision for safety.

PLAY

0-3 months. Sensorimotor and exploring play.

4-8 months. Sensorimotor play + simple objects (cause- effect)

9-12 months. Precise manipulation of objects play.

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1-2 years. More complex gross and fine motor play (walkers, papers and crayons)

2-3 years. Starts symbolic play. Play with pre-school concepts.

3-5 years. Structured play.

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 UNIT 4: DETECTION AND MAIN ASSESSMEMT TESTS

INDEX:

- Introduction
- Assessment

o Body
o Temporal perception
o Spatial perception

- Psychomotor tests

o Bucher test
o Piq and Vayer psychomotor test
o Da Fonseca psychomotor tests

- Other test to assess the psychomotor development in children

o Brunet Lezine test

o MABC 2

INTRODUCTION:

- Psychomotor disorders are characterized for their personalization from each

person, but there are common symptons as the body schema, maturing, tone,
spatial-temporal integration, sensory, kinesthetic and relationship disorders.

- Psychomotor tests can be used to detect these developmental delays or disorders.

- However, from a neurological point of view, every person has to follow the
same stages in psychomotor development

- Intervention must adjust to the developmental needs of the child.

Thus the evaluations have to be made succesively.

- It has to be taken in account that there might be factors influencing the child as:

o tireness,
o pain (which inhibits physical activity and complicates concentration),
o visual defects,
o psychological problems,
o illiteracy,
o communication difficulties, language difficulties,
o auditory disorders, etc.

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 These kinds of problems might influence in the results of the psychomotor
assessment tests.

- Psychomotor tests must be taken in the psychomotor room, with a clear

framework and a comfortable atmosphere.

- Usually only with the examiner and the child.

- While giving directions it is mandatory to use simple, clear words.

- It is important to consider if it is going to be good idea to tell the kids that they
are going to pass a motor skills test (exam).

- In the case that the child is being told it, it is recommended to start the test with
an easy motor activity to gain confidence and improve disposition and
participation.

ASSESMENT BODY SCHEMA:

1. Through DRAWING
2. Through GESTURE
3. Through CONSTRUCTIVE PRAXIS
4. Through LATERALITY
5. Through LANGUAGE

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48
THROUGH GESTURE

• For children between 3 and 6 years old.

• Non-verbal tests, with gestures

• Description: The child must be opposite to the examiner and mimic the gestures
made with hands and fingers by the examiner, as well as make the contrary
gesture

• The test consists in two parts:

- 1st part: Mimic simple gestures: 10 items - mimic gestures using the
hand

- 2nd part: Mimic complex gestures: 10 items - mimic gestures using the
arms

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THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE PRAXIS

• The child must reconstruct a human body using certain plastic pieces,
representing different parts of the body.

• It consists in two parts:

1st test FRONT (4-8 years old)
2nd test PROFILE (from the side) (6-11 years old)

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 • In both tests, 3 tecniques are used:

- Evocation technique: pieces given one by one in an empty tray

- Construction technique: all pieces are available from the beginning
- Reproduction technique: assembling with a model

THORUGH LATERALITY

• Piaget’s test assesses lateralised body schema, as well as the recognition of

left-right spatial coordinates.

Test 1: oneself’s recognition (6 years old)

Test 2: other’s recognition, face to face (8 years old)
Test 3: recognition of the relative position of three objects (11-12 years old)

• This test is generally used together with the Head’s test (hand-eye-ear), due to
the fussion of the Nadien Galifret – Granjon battery

Test 1: imitation
Test 2: verbal orders
Test 3: imitation of images

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3. Imitation by schematic figures

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THROUGH LANGUAGE

They carried out a study to assess the body awareness in children using questions about
the ody concept, schema and image.

The body awareness consists in:

Body concept: concept of the body itself

Body image: oneself’s image (fat, slim, tall, short)
Body schema: different body parts (right hand, left foot)

BODY AWARENESS

ASSESMENT SPATIAL PERCEPTION

Gómez Tolón

Temporal-spatial organization is appropriate only if the body schema is correctly

integrated

Gomez Tolón suggests an assessment of the SOMATOGNOSIA to determine the

body’s spatial orientation. There are 3 types of series: A, B and C.

SERIE A – Arms in the same simultaneous

SERIE B – Arms in the same sequential position

SERIE C – One arm follows the other in a complete circle around a certain axis

SERIE A

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SERIE B

SERIE C

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55
Assesment of the spatial schema through tge Verbal space:

• Centred space of the child in static position

• Decentred space of the child and centred in other child or object in static
position

• Centred space of the child with dynamic changes

• Decentred space of the child with dynamic changes

ASSESMENT TEMPORAL PERCEPTION

Gómez Tolón

Frappe rhythm

• Repetition of sound sequencies playing a drum, xilophone, clapping hands, etc.

• Between every beat there must be an interval of 0.15 - 0.20 seconds.

• If the interval is longer than 6 seconds, the rhythm ceases to exist.

• The optimus length of the interval is 3-6 seconds.

There are 4 types:

1. Acoustic-acoustic

2. Graphic-acoustic

3. Acoustic-graphic

4. Selecting among different graphic representations

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2 Acoustic-acoustic:

The child is told to listen to a sequence of taps in order to repeat it later. Series to
perform:

Series to perform:

2 Graphic-acoustic

The child must perform the rhythm following a graphic representation.

2 Acoustic-graphic

The examiner plays an acoustic sequence, and the child has to write it in a paper

2 Selecting among different graphic representations

The child has to choose the correct graphic representation of the sound that the
examiner is playing.

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PSYCHOMOTOR TEST

1. BUCHER TEST

This test collects other psychomotor balances to shape your psychomotor battery

Before starting the test it is necessary to have a collection of general data related to the
child and its psychomotor evolution

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59
2. PICQ AND VAYER PSYCHOMOTOR TEST

Battery of tests used to determine the psychomotor profile in infants and toddlers

1. Postural control
2. General dynamic coordination
3. Eye-hand coordination
4. Perception
5. Body schema
6. Laterality

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61
3. OTHERS

BRUNET-LEZINE TEST

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EVALUATION OF CHILDREN’S MOVEMENT BATTERY – 2 MABC – 2

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MCCARTHY SCALE OF CHILDRE’S ABILITIES, MSCA

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 UNIT 5. METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF THE PSYCHOMOTOR
SESSIONS

INDEX:

- General aspects. Introduction

- Types of intervention
- Contents of the psychomotor sessions
- Structure of the psychomotor session
- Psychomotor room
- Materials for the psychomotor session
- The use of time
- The role of the psychomotor specialist
- New technologies
- Conclusions

GENERAL ASPECTS. INTRODUCTION

Psychomotricity must involve these features:

Presence of the psychomotor specialist:

• Who intervenes with a specific qualification (action and attitude system)

• Which they achieve through a three-components-training (personal, theoretical,

practical)

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Connection with the development process and its possible delays.

From different points of view: preventive, re-educative and therapeutic

Depending on the methodology:

1) Guided/directed psychomotricity

2) Psychomotor practice

Guided/directed psychomotricity:

It is a traditional psychomotricity in which the psychomotor specialist detects the problem

through standard tests and afterwards plans the intervention or activities

Psychomotor practice or non-guided psychomotricity:

Its goal is to improve or encourage the overall development through the body and
spontaneous movement without directions

The psychomotor session approach might be:

• Therapeutic: follows the diagnosis-treatment-monitoring-overcoming difficulties

schema

• Pedagogical: follows the planning-intervention-assessment-acquisition learnings

schema

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And its performance might be developed:

TYPES OF INTERVENTION:

Individual: it is the most used type of intervention in psychomotor therapy

Group: it is the most used type of intervention in psychomotor education and reeducation
scopes.

CONTENTS OF PSYCHOMOTOR SESSION:

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EXAMPLE SESSION:

MOTOR OBSERVATION DURING A PSYCHOMOTOR SESSION

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BODY:

• Body schema and body image knowledge

• General dynamic coordination

• Postural control (statics)

• Muscular tone (regular, high, low, etc)

• Eye contact

• How is the gaze: lost or it goes with the action?

• Facial gestures and body expression

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SPACE:

• Do they use the whole space? Do they use part of the space?

• What space do they use more frequently? Do they avoid some specific space?
Do they use different heights?

• Order that follows in the exploration of space

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RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TIME:

• Are they able to keep sitting and listen to rules?

• How much time do they dedicate to each activity?

• Do they change from one activity to another quickly?

• How much time does he spend being alone and accompanied by someone?

• How much time does he take to finish one activity and start a new one?

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE OBJECTS:

• Interest that shows for objects, its manipulation and exploration

• Do they show a preference for an object? Do they use the object for different
things?

• What do they use the objects for? Sensorimotor play? Symbolic play?

RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS AND LANGUAGE:

• Peers: who and how do they relate with? What place do they have in the
group? What kind of relationship do they have with the rest of their peers?
What attitude do they show? Do they cooperate, oppose, or share?

• Adults: Do they demand any kind of attachment? What kind of attachment?

Do they consider some adult as a hostile figure?

• Language: How do they talk? What do they talk about? (recurrent topic) Who
do they talk to?

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STRUCTURE OF THE SESSION:

70
The activities that were planned must:

• Have specific objectives

• Be adapted to the child or children: age, skills, affectivity, interests, and

preferences.

In the beginning the activities are easier, and they are used to observe how the child moves
and relates to each person.

Depending on the observations new sessions will be planned with the proper adaptations
in order to reach the objectives.

Psychomotor observations are important to analyze the evolution of each child

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EXAMPLE: SESSION

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SESSIONS REPORT

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PSYCHOMOTOR ROOM

A psychomotor room should be a wide room that allows to move around freely

The floor must be covered with a material that allows to walk on barefoot without
sliping

At the psychomotor room there must be good air circulation.

• Temperature has to be the right one, not too high or too low

• It is better if the walls are painted with light colours and there are not too many
decorations

There must be chairs for people with reduced mobility

A very useful element to have is a mirror

Other materials required are:

• a blackboard,

• closets for the materials,

• wall bars,

• benches and mats

The psychomotor room must have at least 2 differentiated places:

• A place for the sensorimotor pleasure: experience the environment with their body

• A place for representations: for manipulation, construction, representation

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MATERIALS PSYCHOMOTOR ROOM:

In the sessions of psychomotricity several and different materials might be used

Depending on:

• the objectives to achieve

• age

• skills of the group of children

It is also possible to prepare a session without material with activities that involve
running, jumping, dancing, creeping, crawling, keeping or changing postures

Or we can use any material that we use in our daily life, not specifically designed for
the psychomotor sessions.

Materials may be classified in 3 types:

1) Materials that facilitate sensorimotor play and that encourage the body skills

2) Materials that facilitate symbolic play

3) Materials for representation

The different materials used in psychomotricity allow to learn about:

• their features (weight, shape, size, colour or texture)

• their possibilities of action:

- in relation with the body: throwing, turning, bouncing

- in relation with the space: far-near; up-down; in- out

- in relation with time: fast-slow; different rhythms

• They can be used being alone or with others; with just one object or with some
objects at the same time

• These materials are going to allow each person to develop the skills to learn
how to use the different objects in space and time

• Beside, these objects are going to assist the relationships and communication
with others

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USE OF TIME:

Usually, the psychomotor session lasts 45-60 minutes and it is done once or twice a
week

In the beginning sessions last less in order to adapt little by little. After the first
sessions the duration of the session can be longer.

ROLE OF PSYCHOMOTOR SPECIALIST:

The attitude of the psychomotor specialist is going to be crucial to promote a proper

evolution of the children whatever is the field of action

The psychomotor specialist bases their work on three aspects:

1) The psychomotor observation

2) Child’s recognition and acceptance

3) Use of material, didactic and relationship resources

The specialist must:

- listen and observe

- be a symbol of order but also safety

- be a symbolic partner, they should engage in the activities when it is needed, in

order to guide or make the situations develop

NEW TECHNOLOGICAL APLICATION:

Nowadays new technologies are used everywhere in the fields of education and
rehabilitation

There are webs that give us all kinds of information about activities, materials, etc

Some technologic devices that can be used in the sessions are tablets; computers;
interactive digital boards

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CONCLUSIONS:

Psychomotor sessions can be guided or non- guided, individual or in group

They can have a therapeutical or educational/pedagogical approach

Psychomotor sessions must have a particular structure, materials and objectives in

order to improve the areas of communication, social and motor abilities, imitation skills,
creative play and to decrease the stereotyped behaviors.

EXAMPLE: SESSION:

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78
 UNIT 6. PSYCHOMOTOR ACTIONS AND FIRST LEARNING PROCESSES:
READING, MATHS AND SCIENCE

INDEX:

- Reading
- Maths
- Science

LEARNING TO READ:

Reading is:

- relating graphemes and phonemes

- to get information actively (identifying written words)

- process it to understand the meaning of the message

Spatial perception and laterality are crucial for the performance and the reading
learning

For children is easy to acquire some previous knowledge to reading:

- it goes from left to right

- Spaces between words

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Spatial orientation and right-left orientation

- In order to distinguish the different graphemes is important to orientate them

properly in space

- Right-left orientation helps the children discriminate some symmetric letters,

which is going to help improve reading

Almost every child in childhood education confuses “b”, “d”, “p” and “q” because
they are similar

DYNAMIC 1: LATERALITY SPATIAL ORIENTATION

Spatial perception

The perceptive activity of the child related with the manipulations of objects and
shapes, favors the acquisition of the ability to distinguish symbols, recognize different
shapes or dintinguish figure- ground

DYNAMIC 2: SHAPES

Temporal perception and reading

• Reading means associating written symbols (graphemes) to phonemes or

sounds

• There is an important relation between rhythm and reading, because there is a

common element to both of them: the ability to distinguish two stimuli that
are not identical

• The quality of reading is going to depend on the sense of rythm: a child with a
good rythm will be able to adapt the intonation and accentuation and a child
with bad rythm will be read in a monotonous way without intonation or
accentuation

DYNAMIC 3: RHYTHM

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