Efficient Movement: Intervention by Pre-service Teachers for Primary School-aged Children

Abstract

Children identified through the results of the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND) as requiring remediation for movement difficulties were provided with an intensive teaching program of fine and gross motor skills. Ten children aged from 6 to 9 years, were selected for the intensive program, based on their Neuromuscular Development Index (NDI) within the moderately disabled category. The intervention was provided by pre-service teachers and comprised a one-hour lesson per week for six weeks. Following the intervention a repeat measure of the MAND was undertaken and the children's NDI was assessed for change. As a group, the children had a positive shift in NDI scores and the effect of the program is examined in terms of the age and gender of the ten primary school-aged children.