Child Psychomotor Development: A Comprehensive Look
1. Psychomotor Concept
Psychomotor development seeks to connect two seemingly disparate elements: psychological and motor development. It stems from a developmental perspective that aligns the maturation of neuromotor functions with the individual’s psychic abilities, recognizing that both are interconnected facets of a single process.
2. Objectives of Psychomotor Education
Psychomotor education in early childhood has these key objectives:
- Sensory Capacity Development (Sensomotricity): Cultivating body awareness and opening neural pathways for optimal transmission of sensory information to the brain.
- Perceptual Education (Perceptomotricity): Organizing and structuring sensory information from the body and environment into meaningful perceptual schemes.
- Symbolic and Representative Capacity Education (Ideomotricity): Fostering symbolization, enabling children to transcend concrete reality by using objects and actions to represent different concepts.
- Body Language Communication Development: Enhancing non-verbal communication skills.
- Preparation for Basic Preschool Learning: Laying the foundation for academic success.
3. Psychomotor Content
3.1. Body Schema
Body schema is the mental representation of the body, its parts, boundaries, and potential movements.
3.1.1. Elements of Body Schema
Essential elements for proper body schema development include: tonic control, postural control, respiratory control, lateralization, spatial-temporal structure, and praxis motor control.
- Tonic Control: The ability to regulate muscle tension for movement. Activities promoting varied body positions and relaxation enhance tonic control.
- Postural Control: Maintaining balance and body position for action and communication. This is crucial for motor skills and spatial awareness.
- Respiratory Control: Conscious regulation of breathing, respecting physiological limits. Exercises focus on nasal breathing, capacity, and frequency control.
- Lateralization: The preference for one side of the body, influenced by brain hemisphere specialization. Activities should stimulate both sides of the body in early childhood.
- Spatial-Temporal Structure: Understanding spatial relationships (body space, environmental space, symbolic space) and time. Activities involving movement, observation, and manipulation promote spatial development. Rhythmic activities are key for temporal development.
- Praxis Motor Control: Integrating spatiotemporal, postural, and tonic information for voluntary movement. Graphomotor skills, crucial for writing, develop through scribbling, forming shapes, and symbolization stages.
4. Methodological Aspects
Psychomotor practice in early childhood education (0-6 years) should consider:
- Physical Activity and Language: Physical activity facilitates real-world experiences, while language helps analyze, synthesize, and consolidate learning.
- Motivation and Reinforcements: Play motivates, and positive reinforcement encourages progress. Immediate, direct, personal, and unlimited reinforcement is crucial.
- Spatial and Temporal Organization: Consistent rules and routines create a structured environment, reducing disorientation.
- Developmental Stages: Recognizing the stages of sensation, perception, and representation informs teaching strategies.
5. Psychomotor Disorders
5.1. What are Psychomotor Disorders?
Psychomotor disorders involve difficulties or failures in acquiring and integrating psychomotor content, affecting areas like muscle tone, posture, respiration, lateralization, spatial-temporal structure, praxis, and body schema.
5.2. Classifications of Psychomotor Disorders
5.2.1. H. Bucher’s Classification
- Body Schema Disorders: Affecting body knowledge, spatial-temporal organization, and lateralization.
- Maturation Delays: Related to the child’s overall developmental history.
- Tonico-Motor Disharmonies: Fluctuations in motor control, including inhibitory crises and impulsive movements.
5.2.2. J. de Ajuriaguerra’s Classification
- Disorders in Achieving Psychomotor Skills: Affecting voluntary movements and school learning.
- Psychomotor Instability (Hyperkinetic Syndrome): Excessive movement and difficulty focusing.
- Motor Weakness: General inadequacy of motor attitudes and coordination.
- Lateralization Problems: Inconsistent laterality of eye, hand, and foot.
- Tonico-Emotional or Relationship Disorders: Rhythmic motor behaviors, onychophagia (nail-biting).