Developmental Motor Activities for All Children: From Theory to Practice.

Lerch HA, Stopka C. Carmel, IN 46032, Brown & Benchmark, 1992, paperback, 199 pp, illus $12.

This book is written for teachers and college students in the education field, including the special education curriculum. The focus is on physical education, especially programs for children who have perceptual motor problems, mild to moderate mental retardation, or physical disabilities. Many of the activities included are useful for children without handicaps. The skill level and motor control required for most activities in this book are beyond that of most young children with moderate to severe neurological disabilities. Most of the activities appear to be designed to promote improvement of motor skills for children with learning disabilities and minimal motor impairment, and are not necessarily for students who are nonambulatory. Ideas for modifying games, however, are given. Nearly 80 illustrated pages of activities are included.

In a chapter on contemporary theories, the authors compare the theories of Delacato, Piaget, Kephart, Getman, Cratty, Ayres, Williams, and others on the principles of motor learning and perception. There are seven pages of discussion on Delacato's controversial theories, but only a half page on Ayres' theories. The inclusion of more current literature, such as the 1990 publication on movement science by Marjorie Woollacott, would have been helpful. Higgins' fine article on motor skill acquisition was not cited either.

On the plus side, the book is well organized. The section on assessment contains 55 assessment instruments for testing balance, coordination, and fine and gross motor skills. Assessment instruments are organized by content for type of skill or fitness, grade level, and specific type of impairment (eg, learning disability, visual or physical impairment). They are also categorized into ease of administration and validity or reliability. Following this information, several chapters on intervention using a curriculum of developmental motor activities illustrate how to design a "developmental motor activity program." Case studies called "Care Studies" are given. In the case studies, children with developmental motor weakness (ie, poor balance and eye-hand coordination) are tested by a "perceptual motor specialist." If one is not available, the classroom teacher and physical education teacher may do the evaluation. The physical therapist is mentioned as a possible member of the IEP team, but apparently this is the only time a therapist is included in the program. The perceptual motor specialist, for example, administered the Southern California Perceptual Motor Test.

Developmental goals and activities are given using the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance objectives. The categories are organic, neuromuscular, interpretive, social, and emotional.

Appropriate examples for a child's physical education program are given. Usually, the physical education teacher or the perceptual motor specialist works with the classroom teacher to design the program, utilizing a curriculum instrument from the furnished list. The list is organized according to the type of skills being taught: grade level, "specific exceptionality" (type of impairment of pupil), the program implementor, expense, group size and its organization (from simple to complex), parent education component, and other components.

The section on adapted aquatic activities for all children is very comprehensive and interesting. Many different options and considerations are given for developing programs for children with specific disabilities such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, amputations, mental retardation, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and others.

The appendixes contain many pages of teaching materials, including books, audiovisual materials, records, teaching aids, illustrations of homemade equipment, modification of equipment, forms, and lists of organizations and resources.

This book is primarily focused on the needs of the child with exceptionalities in the school setting. It is intended for educators and adapted physical education teachers. it could, however, be useful to physical therapy practitioners, especially those consulting or working in schools.