Balance in Adults with Visual Impairments

During this session, attendees will learn about balance, and it\u27s role in performing activities of daily living and maintaining an independent lifestyle. Attendees will also participate in some basic assessments to better understanding your own balance, and finally, attendees will learn some at home activities to improve their balance

Teaching Dance to Elementary Students

Dance is one of the four major art forms, which also includes theater, music, and visual art. Educating elementary-age students on the fine art of dance can be important in the advancement of their artistic, cognitive, social, and aesthetic and kinesthetic awareness (McCutchen, 2006). In addition to being one of the major art forms, dance is a physical activity that can provide physiological and psychological benefits, including muscular flexibility, aerobic capacity, selfesteem, and motivation (Quin, Frazer, & Redding, 2007)

Balance in Adolescents with and without Visual Impairments

Research has found balance to be significantly delayed in children and adolescents with visual impairments in comparison to their sighted peers, but the relationship between balance self-efficacy and actual balance is unknown. This study examined dynamic and static balance and balance self-efficacy in adolescents who are blind (B) and have low vision (LV); the role of visual experience upon balance; sighted (S) and sighted blindfolded (SB); and experience with vision (SB compared to LV and B); and the relationship between perceived and actual balance. The results revealed that the degree of impairment (Lv compared to B)and experience with vision (SB compared to LV and B)were significant factors in many of the balance assessments, but not the balance self-efficacy ratings. Main effects for self-efficacy ratings and significant correlations for self-efficacy and balance measurements were found for only a few of the more difficult tasks. In conclusion, it is important to examine both motor performance and self-efficacy in adolescents with visual impairments on a variety of familiar tasks and contexts to gain a thorough understanding of the individual\u27s balance. This information is essential when developing appropriate and effective balance interventions for adolescents with visual impairments

Relationship Between Body Composition and Muscle Strength in Early Adolescence Goal-Ball players with Visual Impairments

adolescence goal-ball players with visual impairments. Methods: Thirteen early adolescence goal-ball players with visual impairments that are goal-ball players participated (mean age 13.54±1.27 years, height 155.23±10.86 cm and, body weight 48.23±10.43 kg). Body composition measurements that were assessed included body mass index, body fat percentage and skinfold (abdominal, subscapular, triceps and suprailiac). Participants were also assessed on several strength measurements including standing long jump, the right hand grip, left hand grip, vertical jump, leg strength, sit-up and push up. Results: Positive correlations between ages and height with the standing long jump, the right hand grip, the left hand grip, vertical jump were found in the early adolescence goal-ball players with visual impairments (P\u3c0.05). Negative correlations were found between body mass index and body fat percentage with standing long jump, vertical jump, sit-up (P\u3c0.05) and among skinfold (subscapular, triceps and suprailiac) with standing long jump, the right hand grip, left hand grip, vertical jump, push up (P\u3c0.05) and between abdominal skinfold with standing long jump, the right hand grip, left hand grip, vertical jump, sit-up, push up (P\u3c0.05). On the other hand, there was not a correlation between body weight with muscle strength and leg strength with body composition (P\u3e0.05). Conclusins: In an assessment of body composition and muscle strength, it was found that body weight did not significantly impact muscle strength in early adolescence goal-ball players with visual impairments. This finding could be of importance for understanding the role of muscle strength and body composition in routine training of goal-ball players

Teaching Two Critical Locomotor Skills to Children Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision

Alexandria has retinopathy of prematurity. While attending elementary school, she received the services of a teacher of visually impaired students, an adapted physical education teacher, and an orientation and mobility instructor. Her instructors praised her running and never provided any constructive feedback on the movement patterns of her running, so Alexandria assumed that she was running with proper form. It was not until Alexandria advanced to middle school that a physical educator informed her that she had a shuffling gait and needed to swing her arms while running. Through tactile modeling and physical guidance, Alexandria’s gait improved dramatically; however, she was embarrassed that her form was not corrected at a younger age

Coordination changes in the early stages of learning to cascade juggle

The experiment was setup to examine the coordination changes in assembling the movement form of 3-ball cascade juggling. Eight adult participants learned to juggle over 4 weeks of practice. Juggling scores were recorded at each session and performance was videotaped at eight selected sessions for purposes of movement analysis. Once the basic spatial and temporal constraints on cascade juggling were satisfied, and the figure-8 juggling mode was established, temporal modulations of the relative motions of the hands were emphasized. All participants learned to juggle and the increase over practice in the number of consecutive balls caught was best fit with a power law. The non-proportional rate of performance increment was consistent with the qualitative changes in the form of the hand and ball movement kinematics that occurred over practice

TuBI - ein virtuelles Seminar zur Text- und Bildgestaltung im Internet

TuBI stands for a virtual seminar concerning the design of text and pictures in the Internet. The participants get to know theoretical knowledge and practical competencies in designing convincing web-pages and furthermore in planning didactically wise concepts for learning texts in the Internet. The instructional concept bases on the principles of problem oriented learning and the Cognitive Apprenticeship Approach. In the net-based learning environment "TuBI" applicable knowledge is taught by means of authentic problems and multimedia anchors. Various electronic communication tools are offered to the participants to foster their virtual cooperation. The curriculum was developed after a critical reflection of already existing virtual seminar-concepts and therefore offers an instructional support that explicitly responds to the specific features that learning in a virtual space comes with.TuBI (Text- und Bildgestaltung im Internet) ist ein virtuelles Seminar, das den Teilnehmern theoretisches Wissen und praktische Kompetenzen in der Gestaltung von Text und Bild im Internet vermitteln soll. Dabei geht es um ein ansprechendes Design sowie um die didaktisch sinnvolle Konzeption von Internet-Seiten. Die instruktionale Ausrichtung des Seminars basiert auf den Grundprinzipien des problemorientierten Lernens und dem Cognitive Apprenticeship Ansatz. In der netzbasierten Lernumgebung TuBI findet anwendungsnahes Lernen anhand von authentischen Problemstellungen und multimedialen Ankern statt. Dabei stehen den Studierenden verschiedene elektronische Kommunikationswerkzeuge zur Verfügung, die die virtuelle Kooperation der Studierenden unterstützen sollen. Das Curriculum entstand aus einer kritischen Reflektion bereits vorhandener virtueller Seminarkonzepte und bietet daher instruktionale Unterstützungen, die speziell auf die spezifischen Eigenschaften des Lernens im virtuellen Raum eingehen

Educazione Fisica per Bambini con Sindrome di Charge: Ricerca per la Pratica

I bambini affetti da sindrome di Charge mostrano spesso un significativo ritardo nell o sviluppo motorio, che influisce sull a loro performance in diverse abilità motorie e attività fisiche. Lo scopo di questo studio era determinare lo stato dell ’educazione fisica offerta ai bambini affetti da questa sindrome. Le principali aree di interesse erano: (1) setting dell ’educazione fisica; (2) modalità di comunicazione; (3) modifiche; (4) lezioni di successo; (5) lezioni di educazione fisica problematiche. Ventisei genitori di bambini con sindrome di Charge, di età compresa tra 6 e 19 anni, hanno compilato un questionario durante una conferenza internazionale rivolta all e famiglie di soggetti affetti da questa sindrome, che è stato utilizzato come principale fonte di raccolta dati, per comprendere meglio la prospettiva dei genitori sull e esperienze di educazione fisica dei loro bambini con sindrome di Charge. I dati contenuti nell e risposte dei genitori al questionario sono stati usati per fornire indicazioni pratiche per la programmazione di attività di educazione fisica. I risultati hanno rivelato che il tipo di inserimento nell ’educazione fisica influisce sul successo dei bambini e sull a soddisfazione dei genitori rispetto al programma di educazione fisica. Inoltre, i bambini che avevano la possibilità di usufruire di personale di sostegno, come un assistente dell ’insegnante, un educatore o un coadiutore durante l’educazione fisica, avevano maggiore successo. Sono state utilizzate svariate modalità di comunicazione con i bambini con sindrome di Charge. Le lezioni di educazione fisica di successo, secondo quanto riportato dai genitori, erano nuoto, monopattino, bowling, scherma, T-ball , danza, roccia, hockey su pista, hockey su prato e ginnastica artistica. Le lezioni in cui i bambini facevano più fatica erano quell e relative ad abilità motorie fondamentali, come saltare la corda, correre, saltell are, e tutte le lezioni di sport che implicavano l’uso di una pall a che si muoveva velocemente. In conclusione, le modalità di inserimento in educazione fisica, la comunicazione e le modifiche devono essere definitive in modo individualizzato, tenendo conto dell e caratteristiche di ogni singolo bambino con sindrome di Charge. Inoltre, il personale di supporto deve essere appositamente formato sull e esigenze speciali di ogni bambino e sull e aree base di insegnamento del programma di educazione fisica. Vengono infine inclusi nell ’articolo alcuni suggerimenti per migliorare i programmi di educazione fisica, in modo da favorire il coinvolgimento del bambino con la classe e aumentare il successo nell e singole lezioni svolte

A Narrative Review of Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents: What We Know and What We Need to Find Out

Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the worl

Egomotion and Vection in Young and Elderly Adults

Background: Elderly people tend to rely upon their visual input more than upon that from other sensory systems due to age-related declines. This reliance upon vision places older adults at risk for falls because they are often not aware of the magnitude of their body motion. Objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the influence of stationary anchors and vection upon egomotion in young, young-old and old adult age groups using the moving room paradigm. Methods: Forty-five healthy participants separated into 3 age groups (young, 18–20 years; young-old, 60–69 years; old, 70–79 years) were tested. Participants stood on a force platform in front of an oscillating virtual moving room. Optical flow fields were presented to the central and peripheral areas of the retina, individually and jointly. Postural motion was assessed through center of pressure (COP). There were 5 room conditions used to evaluate the role of central and peripheral vision upon postural motion. Participants rated their vection, perceived amount of motion and the magnitude of the visual scene motion following each condition. Results: In all optical flow conditions, old adults produced more postural motion than the young and young-old adults. Participants were quite accurate at rating their postural motion and vection with their COP displacement; however, young adults rated their vection higher, yet produced significantly less COP displacement than the older adults. Postural responses were also decreased in both age groups when portions of the visual scene were occluded in central or peripheral vision. These findings indicate visual sensitivity to visual scene motion as a function of age when information is available to all areas of the retina. Static images in the visual scene provide a reference point which was found to assist in the stabilization of body position, decreasing fall risk. Conclusions: Older adults exhibited increased egomotion, yet decreased vection in response to visual scene motion. It is likely that the reduction in proprioceptive feedback due to healthy aging induces greater COP motion in the older adults before they perceive visual scene motion, placing them at an increased risk for incurring falls. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Base