Analysis of motor disorder in retarded infants and young children.
A prospective longitudinal study of 53 retarded infants and young children without evidence of a frank physical disability suggests that their delayed motor development was related to a subtle but specific disturbance in the evolution of infantile reflex behavior. The aberration was characterized by a delay in the appearance of postural adjustment reactions, specifically, of propping and equilibrium responses that, under normal circumstances, precede the accomplishment of successive gross-motor milestones. Motor development in this selected group of retarded children was delayed for their chronological age but was consistent with the maturational level of postural adjustment reactions.
D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D007360:Intelligence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009048:Motor Skills; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011187:Posture; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D012018:Reflex