Infants exploring objects: A cascades perspective

Malachowski, Lauren G.; Needham, Amy

doi:10.1016/bs.acdb.2022.11.001

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…One theme woven through these findings is the way in which different skills build on each other, as in a developmental cascade (Malachowski & Needham, 2022; Oakes & Rakison, 2019). A new skill like reaching‐to‐grasp opens up a multitude of new possibilities for learning about objects, but also for the development of fine motor skills including independent finger use and pincer grasp (leading, in turn, to more learning about objects).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How babies use their hands to learn about objects: Exploration, reach‐to‐grasp, manipulation, and tool use

Needham

Nelson

2023

WIRES Cognitive Science

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Object play is essential for infant learning, and infants spend most of their day with objects. Young infants learn about objects and their properties through multimodal exploration facilitated by caregivers. They figure out how to transport their hands to where objects are, and how to grasp objects in increasingly complex ways. Building on earlier experiences, they learn how to use their hands collaboratively to act on objects, and how to use objects to act on other objects in instrumental ways. These changes in how infants use their hands occur during the most rapid period of motor development and may have important downstream implications for other domains. Recent research findings have established the importance of effective fine motor skills for later academic skills, yet our understanding of the factors that influence the early development of hand skills is sparse at best. Latest research on reaching, grasping, object manipulation, hands collaboration, and tool use is reviewed and connections among these developments are explained from the perspective of developmental cascades.This article is categorized under: Psychology > Motor Skill and Performance Psychology > Development and Aging

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How babies use their hands to learn about objects: Exploration, reach‐to‐grasp, manipulation, and tool use

Needham

Nelson

2023

WIRES Cognitive Science

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“…Motor skills are known to serve as the foundation for the emergence of other social and cognitive skills during development [23,24]. For instance, locomotor skills facilitate the exploration of one's surroundings, while manual dexterity fosters object manipulation and creates opportunities for joint attention and social interactions [23][24][25][26]. Recognizing the important role of motor skill in broader development, a comprehensive analysis of the SPARK database revealed that motor performance in children with ASD predicts developmental outcomes in social communication, repetitive behavior, language, and functional domains [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental Differences in Reaching-and-Placing Movement and Its Potential in Classifying Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Deep Learning Approach

Su,

Mutersbaugh,

Huang

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is among the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, yet the current diagnostic procedures rely on behavioral analyses and interviews and lack objective screening methods. This study seeks to address this gap by integrating upper limb kinematics and deep learning methods to identify potential biomarkers that could be validated in younger age groups in the future to enhance the identification of ASD. Forty-one school-age children, with and without an ASD diagnosis (Mean age ± SE = 10.3 ± 0.4; 12 Females), participated in the study. A single Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) was affixed to the child’s wrist as they engaged in a continuous reaching and placing task. Deep learning techniques were employed to classify children with and without ASD. Our findings suggest delays in motor planning and control in school-age children compared to healthy adults. Compared to TD children, children with ASD exhibited poor motor planning and control as seen by greater number of movement units, more movement overshooting, and prolonged time to peak velocity/acceleration. Compensatory movement strategies such as greater velocity and acceleration were also seen in the ASD group. More importantly, using Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) model, we demonstrated an accuracy of ~ 78.1% in classifying children with and without ASD. These findings underscore the potential use of studying upper limb movement kinematics during goal-directed arm movements and deep learning methods as valuable tools for classifying and, consequently, aiding in the diagnosis and early identification of ASD upon further validation in younger children.

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“…For example, sitting facilitates object exploration (Soska & Adolph, 2014), and object exploration in turn supports visual‐spatial skills such as the perception of dynamic events, mental rotation, and an understanding of the 3‐dimensional property of objects (e.g., Baumgartner & Oakes, 2013; Soska et al., 2010). Moreover, as infants explore objects and learn about the social and goal‐directed consequences of their own behaviors, they grow in their abilities to interpret the meaning of other people's emotions, actions, and goals (e.g., Hoemann et al., 2020; Kanakogi & Itakura, 2011; for review, see Malachowski & Needham, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mountain stream of infant development

Tamis-LeMonda

2023

Infancy

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Development is complex. It encompasses interacting domains, at multiple levels, across nested time scales. Embracing the complexity of development—while addressing the challenges inherent to studying infants—requires researchers to make tough decisions about what to study, why, how, where, and when. My own view is inspired by a developmental systems approach, and echoed in Esther Thelen's (2005) mountain stream metaphor. Like a river that carves its course, the active infant navigates the social and physical environment and generates rich inputs that propel learning and development. Drawing from my experiences, I offer some recommendations to guide research on infants. I encourage researchers to embrace discovery science; to observe infants in ecologically valid settings; to recognize the active and adaptive nature of infant behavior; to break down silos and consider the nonobvious; and to adopt full transparency in all aspects of research. I draw on cascading influences in infant play, language, and motor domains to illustrate the value of a bottom‐up, cross‐domain, collaborative approach.

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Infants exploring objects: A cascades perspective

Cited by 5 publications

References 111 publications

How babies use their hands to learn about objects: Exploration, reach‐to‐grasp, manipulation, and tool use

How babies use their hands to learn about objects: Exploration, reach‐to‐grasp, manipulation, and tool use

Developmental Differences in Reaching-and-Placing Movement and Its Potential in Classifying Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Deep Learning Approach

The mountain stream of infant development

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