Suchergebnisse

Neuromotor intervention approaches, based on central nervous system development among nonhandicapped infants and young children, are presently the most popular motor training approaches with cerebral palsied children. Empirical data in support of neuromotor or other approaches to motor training, however, are lacking. In response to the absence of a data base, the theoretical basis and effectiveness of a neuromotor intervention was investigated across seven cerebral palsied, severely handicapped children, ages 2 1/2 to 12 years. Results suggested a training effect in the data of three children. Theoretical relationships among abnormal tonic reflexes and normal motor patterns were not supported by the data. Because results were not consistent across all children, it was suggested that future research focus on subject characteristics that may relate to the effectiveness of intervention. Additionally, recommendations were made regarding measurement systems for evaluating change, and strategies for investigating multicomponent training procedures.

Values rather than science are often unrecognized as an impetus for policy development; a reasonable role of science is to determine how the intent of policy can best be realized. In recent years, the policy of educating all handicapped students has been reevaluated primarily because of two factors: (a) costs associated with providing educational services and (b) disagreement among professionals concerning whether all handicapped students can benefit from an education. A review of the educability litigation reaffirms that equal educational opportunity is still valued, and education can be defined broadly. Rather than questioning the value of equal educational opportunity, we suggest that research and curriculum development should focus on three areas: First, apply the criteria of educational validity (Voeltz & Evans, 1983) to demonstrate that education is appropriate; second, investigate student variance in learning associated with specific student characteristics and interventions; and third, evaluate valid curricular approaches for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.