Motor Learning in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

Motor Learning in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

Disability and Rehabilitation published research to examine explicit and implicit learning in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.  The study compared the motor learning of children with left and right unilateral cerebral palsy and typically developing children while they shuffled disks toward a target using a prism-adaptation design.  Each trial consisted of pre-exposure, prism exposure, and post-exposure phases with half of the participants being instructed about the function of the prism glasses while the other half were not.

To measure motor learning, the distance between the target and the shuffled disk was measured.  Explicit and implicit motor learning was determined using the prism adaptation design.  Prism adaptation is when the motor system adapts to new visuospatial coordinates imposed by prisms that displace the visual field. Once the prisms are withdrawn, the degree and strength of the adaptation can be measured by the spatial deviation of the motor actions in the direction opposite to the visual displacement imposed by the prisms, a phenomenon known as after effect.

The results indicated the following:

• no significant effects were revealed between typically developing participants and participants with unilateral cerebral palsy.
• participants with right unilateral cerebral palsy had a significantly lower rate of adaptation than participants with left unilateral cerebral palsy, but only when no instructions were provided.
• the magnitude of the negative after-effects did not differ significantly between participants with right and left unilateral cerebral palsy.

The researchers concluded that the capacity for explicit motor learning is reduced among individuals with right unilateral cerebral palsy when the accumulation of declarative knowledge is unguided (i.e., discovery learning).  It was recommended to use implicit motor learning interventions for individuals with cerebral palsy, especially for children with right unilateral cerebral palsy.  When using explicit motor learning interventions use singular verbal instruction.

References:

Fernández-Ruiz, J., & Díaz, R. (1999). Prism adaptation and aftereffect: specifying the properties of a procedural memory system. Learning & Memory, 6(1), 47-53.

van der Kamp, J., Steenbergen, B., & Masters, R. S. (2017). Explicit and implicit motor learning in children with unilateral cerebral palsy. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-8.

Therapeutic Play Activities for Children digital download includes 100 play activity pages and 12 tip sheets. The play activities encourage the development of fine motor skills, bimanual skills, rolling, crawling, tall kneeling, standing balance and cruising with a strong focus on children with cerebral palsy.  FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.

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What is a Growth Mindset?

What is a growth mindset?  It was developed by psychologist Carol Dweck who explains mindset as a self-perception or “self-theory” that people hold about themselves.  For example, it is believing that you are smart or not smart, good athlete or bad athlete, good at knitting or stink at knitting.  This type of mindset can have a profound effect on learning achievement and skill acquisition.

Carol Dweck explains mindset further comparing a fixed  mindset to a growth mindset.  According to Dweck, “In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort.”   In comparison, Dweck explains that “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”

Overall, her research revealed that when students learned through a structured program that they could “grow their brains” and increase their intellectual abilities, they did better. In addition, having children focus on the process that leads to learning (like hard work or trying new strategies) fosters a growth mindset and its benefits.

The way we respond to students learning effects how they learn.  One of the examples Dweck provides is instead of simply responding “Good effort” when a child is trying to learn something new but struggling, try responding “The point isn’t to get it all right away, the point is to grow your understanding step by step.  What can you try next?”

A growth mindset is not just about effort.  Students need to apply effort of course, but they also need to discover new strategies and ask for help when needed.   This helps students to face challenges head on and understand that setbacks occur on the path of learning.

Reference:

Dweck, C. Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’. Education Week. Retrieved from the web on 4/20/17 at http://ift.tt/1iNW5o6

Hidden curriculum (2014, August 26). In S. Abbott (Ed.), The glossary of education reform. Retrieved from http://ift.tt/2pGlAyE.

Growth Mindset Curriculum: This Growth Mindset curriculum, created by Thia Triggs, school based Occupational Therapist, includes 5 units that will help you to support your children in developing a Growth Mindset  FIND OUT MORE.

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