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This article provides insights into the use of imagery procedures with special populations. After an overview of various imagery techniques that have been used to enhance motor performance with normal persons, studies dealing with the elderly, brain and spinal cord injuries, neoplasms, and persons with mental handicaps are discussed. Issues are addressed concerning the use of imagery techniques by the researcher and practitioner. The final section of this paper deals with possible applications of imagery techniques with special populations.

The effects of uncertainty of occurrence and uncertainty of time—use of catch-trials and preparatory intervals—in simple reaction time (RT) trials were investigated with nonhandicapped and mentally retarded subjects. The results showed that: (a) Catch-trials impaired the performance of this task, (b) catch-trials did not differentiate among groups of subjects, and (c) preparatory intervals differently affected RT latencies of nonhandicapped and mentally retarded subjects. Interpretation of findings suggests that the use of catch-trials induced preparation decrements and that preparation decrements may explain in part the poorer RT performance of retarded subjects.

Problems encountered by researchers conducting motor learning studies with special populations are the central focus of this paper. The sequence of topical coverage follows a progression that would be encountered by researchers as they develop and conduct research studies. For each problem or issue identified, a suggestion is provided to help researchers cope with these problems. The following topics are examined: development of an appropriate problem, selection of a handicapping condition, determination of dependent variables, utilization of correct experimental protocols, evaluation of project design, and assessment of data.

The purpose of this article was to examine techniques that are available to adapted physical educators and therapeutic recreators to enhance flexibility. Based upon current research and literature in the areas of flexibility and range of motion, this article explored theoretical constructs as well as applications of specific techniques. A two-tier model for flexibility enhancement was generated which served as a basis for the development of this article. One tier involved considerations concerning the stretching of collagenous tissue, implications regarding elastic and viscous properties, and new methods for stretching this type of tissue. The other tier incorporated neurophysiological mechanisms, their effect upon agonist and antagonist muscles, and facilitation exercises to improve flexibility.

The purpose was to compare children with and without learning disabilities (LD), ages 6–8 years, on midline crossing inhibition (MCI). Participants were 44 children (24 boys and 20 girls) in two groups (LD and non-LD), matched on age and gender. MCI was operationally defined as significantly slower contralateral movement when choice reaction time (CRT) and movement time (MT) performance were examined for ipsilateral, midline, and contralateral tasks with both upper and lower extremities. Participants completed 12 days of tests (30 trials each day) using a protocol developed by Eason and Surburg (1993). A 2 (Group) × 2 (Extremity) × 3 (Direction) repeated measures MANOVA revealed significant difference for each dependent variable. Children with LD displayed MCI, whereas children without LD did not.

In order to improve motor performance, mental imagery procedures have evolved over the years with nondisabled subjects. Studies researching the concept of using mental imagery with special populations (Surburg, & Stumpner, 1987; Surburg, 1991; Surburg, Porretta, & Sutlive, 1995) are very few in number. This study examined the efficacy of using mental imagery in developing skill on a motorically oriented task (pursuit rotor) and a cognitively oriented task (peg board) on middle school students with mild mental disabilities (MMD). Thirty subjects were assigned randomly to a physical, imagery, or no-practice control group to perform either a peg board or pursuit rotor task. For each motor task, there was a pretest followed by appropriate treatment regime and a posttest session. The dependent variables were the number of pegs placed in appropriate order for the peg board task and time on target for the pursuit rotor task. Results were that imagery practice enhanced the motor performance of children with MMD on both the peg board (cognitively oriented task) and pursuit rotor (motorically oriented task).

This study investigated the movement preparation (reaction time) and movement execution (movement time) of children with and without ADHD by manipulating the uncertainty of occurrence. Participants performed a seated lower extremity choice response time protocol, which contained either 10% catch trials or 30% catch trials along with 27 empirical stimuli to one of three target directions. Results indicated that children with ADHD were significantly slower at processing lower extremity movements than their peers for the condition with increased number of catch trials, but not the condition with fewer catch trials. These findings suggest that children with ADHD are more affected by the uncertainty of an empirical stimulus during the preparation phase of a movement response than their age-matched peers are.

Students with mild mental retardation (MMR) often demonstrate reluctance, confusion, or performance deterioration when required to perform tasks that require looking, reaching, or stepping across the body’s midline. Sensory integration theorists contend that midline crossing is a predictor of bilateral integration. However, in factor analysis studies, very little variance is accounted for by midline crossing data. The present study viewed midline crossing as a function of information processing and utilized a temporal assessment process rather than the usual spatial assessment process. Results indicated that subjects classified as MMR experienced slower choice reaction time (CRT) and movement time (MT) for stimuli placed across the body’s midline. However, higher functioning subjects with MMR performed equally well on CRT for ipsilateral and crosslateral tasks. The data provide evidence for a developmental hypothesis as an explanation for midline crossing problems.