| Summary |
The purposes of this thesis were to (a) identify the movement patterns used by children with severe developmental delay to rise to standing, (b) to examine whether the movement categories developed by VanSant were appropriate in describing their movement patterns, and (c) to document changes that may occur in rising patterns between an initial assessment and one-year follow-up. Three children with severe developmental delay served as subjects in the study. The subjects consisted of two boys and one girl ages 6.5, 7.5 and 8.5 years old, respectively. The children were identified as having severe developmental delays by their local education agency based on the following criteria: test results of 2 standard deviations below the mean, a 30% to 50% delay on developmental assessment instruments, and a score on a standard IQ test below 40 points. Each of the subjects were videotaped performing eight trials of rising from the supine position. The videotapes were analyzed using the component approach. Three body regions were examined: axial region, upper extremity and lower extremity. The movement patterns in each of the three body components were described and the mode profile were determined. In addition to examining the movement patterns using the "component approach," the movement patterns were described in narrative form. Results indicated that the movement categories developed by VanSant were appropriate for children with severe developmental delay. All of the subjects demonstrated developmentally less advanced patterns than their non-disabled peers. Results indicated that subjects demonstrated slight or no progress during the one-year period. |
