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This report describes a novel test of the prediction that locomotion-induced changes in an infant’s functional utilization of peripheral lamellar optic flow (PLOF) for postural stability contributes to avoidance of the deep side of a visual cliff. To test the prediction, a corridor, with either low-textured or high-textured walls, was constructed to run the length of a visual cliff. The infants, 9.5-month-olds with varying amounts of hands-and-knees crawling experience, were randomly assigned to the low-texture (n = 30) or the high-texture condition (n = 32). Consistent with predictions, the findings revealed significant interactions between crawling experience and texture condition for the probability of crossing and the latency to venture onto the deep side of the cliff. Most notably, more experienced crawlers, but not less experienced crawlers, were significantly more likely to cross the visual cliff to the parents and ventured onto the cliff faster in the high-texture condition than in the low-texture condition. The availability of PLOF thus had an effect on infants’ crossing behavior on the visual cliff. We interpret these findings as evidence for a three-step process in which locomotor-induced changes in visual proprioception play a central role in the development of wariness of heights.

Children with autism spectrum disorder tend to have little interest in the presence, actions, and motives of other persons. In addition, these children tend to present with a limited and overly redundant movement repertoire, often expressing hyperfixation and aversion to novelty. We explore whether this is related to a more fundamental lack of appreciation for various temporal dynamics, including periodic, chaotic, and aperiodic motion structures. Seven children with ASD (age, gender, and height matched with children without ASD) were asked to stand and watch the motion of a visual stimulus displayed on a large (55") video monitor. Gaze and posture movements were recorded and assessed using cross recurrence quantification analysis for qualities of coordination, including rate and duration of bouts of coordination. Results showed that children with ASD do not express an affinity to chaotic motion of the stimulus in the same way as children without ASD. We contend that this indifference to chaotic motion is foundational to their general disinterest in biological motion.

We characterize bimanual coordination development for the first time in a large sample of children (n = 303) in relation to age, sex, and athletic experience. A further aim is to document the effect of these factors on development to indirectly gain insight into the neural processes that underlie this advanced level of eye–hand coordination. This was a cross-sectional design involving three age groups (range: 9–15 years) that were further separated by sex and level of athletic experience. Participants completed two bimanual tasks and a unimanual control task. While there was no significant change in unimanual movement speed, we observed that females performed the bimanual tasks faster, compared with males. Further, we found that select-level athletes had superior bimanual abilities. Lastly, we found an interaction of sex and skill across age. All groups achieved significant improvement in bimanual coordination with the exception of nonselect males. These data provide a description of normal bimanual coordination development in children during the developmentally crucial ages of 9–15 years, taking account of sex- and experience-related differences.

The Test of Gross Motor Development is used to identify children’s level of motor proficiency, specifically to detect motor delays. This study aimed to translate the TGMD-3 items and assess reliability and content and construct validity for the TGMD-3 in Brazil. A cross-cultural translation was used to generate a Brazilian Portuguese version of the TGMD-3. The validation process involved 33 professionals and 597 Brazilian children (ages 3–10) from the five main geographic regions of Brazil. The results confirmed language clarity and pertinence, as well as face validity of the TGMD-3. High intrarater (.60 to .90) and interrater (.85 to .99) reliability was evident, and test-retest temporal stability was confirmed (locomotor .93; ball skills .81). Adequate internal consistency was present for the skills-to-test and subtests correlations (TGMD-3-BR: α .74; locomotor skills: α .63; ball skills: α .76) and performance-criteria-to-test and -subtest correlations (TGMD-3: α .93; locomotor skills: .90; ball skills: .88). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity of a two-factor model (RMSEA = .04, 90% confidence interval: .03 to .05; CFI = .94; NFI = .91; TLI = .92; GFI = .94; AGFI = .92). The TGMD-3 is a valid and reliable instrument for Brazilian children.

This study aimed to determine if the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) remained a valid assessment of motor competence following the removal of the hopping for height subtest (KTK3). Children (n = 2479) aged 6–11 years completed all KTK subtests (KTK4) and motor quotient sum scores (MQS) were determined for the KTK3 and KTK4. Classifications were established as MQS below percentile 5 (P5), MQS between percentile 5–15 (P15), MQS between percentile 15–50 (P15–50), MQS between percentile 50–85 (P50–85), MQS between percentile 85–95 (P85), and MQS higher than percentile 95 (P95). Pearson’s correlation (r = .97) and cross-tabs (Chi² = 6822.53, p < .001; Kappa = 0.72) identified substantial agreement overall between the KTK3 and KTK4. However, when classified into separate age and gender categories, poor agreement (< 60%) was found in girls: P15 at 8–11 years and P85 at 6–7 years; and in boys: P5 and P15 at 6 years, P85 at 8 years, and P15 at 10 years. Researchers should consider these findings when selecting which KTK protocol to use.