Improving fine motor activities of people with disabilities by using the response-stimulation strategy with a standard keyboard

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1863-1867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Man-Ling Chang ◽  
Ching-Hsiang Shih
Keyword(s):  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Standard Keyboard ◽  
Motor Activities

High-frequency submaximal stimulation over muscle evokes centrally generated forces in human upper limb skeletal muscles

2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 370-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Sébastien Blouin ◽  
Lee D. Walsh ◽  
Peter Nickolls ◽  
Simon C. Gandevia
Keyword(s):  
Upper Limb ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Biceps Brachii ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Nerve Blocks ◽  
Ia Afferents ◽  
Lower Limb Muscles ◽  
Peripheral Mechanism ◽  
Central Origin ◽  
Motor Activities

Control of posture and movement requires control of the output from motoneurons. Motoneurons of human lower limb muscles exhibit sustained, submaximal activity to high-frequency electrical trains, which has been hypothesized to be partly triggered by monosynaptic Ia afferents. The possibility to trigger such behavior in upper limb motoneurons and the potential unique role of Ia afferents to trigger such behavior remain unclear. Subjects ( n = 9) received high-frequency trains of electrical stimuli over biceps brachii and flexor pollicis longus (FPL). We chose to study the FPL muscle because it has weak monosynaptic Ia afferent connectivity and it is involved in fine motor control of the thumb. Two types of stimulus trains (100-Hz bursts and triangular ramps) were tested at five intensities below painful levels. All subjects exhibited enhanced torque in biceps and FPL muscles after both types of high-frequency train. Torques also persisted after stimulation, particularly for the highest stimulus intensity. To separate the evoked torques that resulted from a peripheral mechanism (e.g., muscle potentiation) and that which resulted from a central origin, we studied FPL responses to high-frequency trains after complete combined nerve blocks of the median and radial nerves ( n = 2). During the blocks, high-frequency trains over the FPL did not yield torque enhancements or persisting torques. These results suggest that enhanced contractions of central origin can be elicited in motoneurons innervating the upper limb, despite weak monosynaptic Ia connections for FPL. Their presence in a recently evolved human muscle (FPL) indicates that these enhanced contractions may have a broad role in controlling tonic postural outputs of hand muscles and that they may be available even for fine motor activities involving the thumb.

scholarly journals Making Self-Management Mobile Health Apps Accessible to People With Disabilities: Qualitative Single-Subject Study

10.2196/15060 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e15060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leming Zhou ◽  
Andi Saptono ◽  
I Made Agus Setiawan ◽  
Bambang Parmanto
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Health ◽  
Motor Impairment ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Mhealth Apps

Background Over the past decade, a large number of mobile health (mHealth) apps have been created to help individuals to better manage their own health. However, very few of these mHealth apps were specifically designed for people with disabilities, and only a few of them have been assessed for accessibility for people with disabilities. As a result, people with disabilities have difficulties using many of these mHealth apps. Objective The objective of this study was to identify an approach that can be generally applied to improve the accessibility of mHealth apps. Methods We recruited 5 study participants with a primary diagnosis of cerebral palsy or spinal cord injury. All the participants had fine motor impairment or lack of dexterity, and hence, they had difficulties using some mHealth apps. These 5 study participants were first asked to use multiple modules in the client app of a novel mHealth system (iMHere 2.0), during which their performance was observed. Interviews were conducted post use to collect study participants’ desired accessibility features. These accessibility features were then implemented into the iMHere 2.0 client app as customizable options. The 5 participants were asked to use the same modules in the app again, and their performance was compared with that in the first round. A brief interview and a questionnaire were then performed at the end of the study to collect the 5 participants’ comments and impression of the iMHere 2.0 app in general and of the customizable accessibility features. Results Study results indicate that the study participants on their first use of the iMHere 2.0 client app experienced various levels of difficulty consistent with the severity of their lack of dexterity. Their performance was improved after their desired accessibility features were added into the app, and they liked the customizable accessibility features. These participants also expressed an interest in using this mHealth system for their health self-management tasks. Conclusions The accessibility features identified in this study improved the accessibility of the mHealth app for people with dexterity issues. Our approach for improving mHealth app accessibility may also be applied to other mHealth apps to make those apps accessible to people with disabilities.

Fine Motor Activities in Head Start and Kindergarten Classrooms

2003 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 550-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Marr ◽  
S. Cermak ◽  
E. S. Cohn ◽  
A. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Head Start ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Motor Activities

scholarly journals Fine Motor Activities in Elementary School Children: A Replication Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 7402345010p1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sierra Caramia ◽  
Amanpreet Gill ◽  
Alisha Ohl ◽  
David Schelly
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Elementary School Children ◽  
Replication Study ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Motor Activities

Fine Motor Activities in Kindergarten Classrooms

2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (4_Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 7411505089p1
Author(s):  
Jennifer Fogo ◽  
Shannon Spangler ◽  
Hanna Rose ◽  
Melody White ◽  
Jeffrey Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fine Motor ◽  
Motor Activities

scholarly journals Fine Motor Activities Program to Promote Fine Motor Skills in a Case Study of Down’s Syndrome

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suchitporn Lersilp ◽  
Supawadee Putthinoi ◽  
Kewalin Panyo
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skills ◽  
Motor Development ◽  
Down's Syndrome ◽  
Down’S Syndrome ◽  
Manual Dexterity ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Fine Motor Skills ◽  
Motor Activities

<p>Children with Down’s syndrome have developmental delays, particularly regarding cognitive and motor development. Fine motor skill problems are related to motor development. They have impact on occupational performances in school-age children with Down’s syndrome because they relate to participation in school activities, such as grasping, writing, and carrying out self-care duties. This study aimed to develop a fine motor activities program and to examine the efficiency of the program that promoted fine motor skills in a case study of Down’s syndrome. The case study subject was an 8 -year-old male called Kai, who had Down’s syndrome. He was a first grader in a regular school that provided classrooms for students with special needs. This study used the fine motor activities program with assessment tools, which included 3 subtests of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2) that applied to Upper-limb coordination, Fine motor precision and Manual dexterity; as well as the In-hand Manipulation Checklist, and Jamar Hand Dynamometer Grip Test. The fine motor activities program was implemented separately and consisted of 3 sessions of 45 activities per week for 5 weeks, with each session taking 45 minutes. The results showed obvious improvement of fine motor skills, including bilateral hand coordination, hand prehension, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, and hand muscle strength. This positive result was an example of a fine motor intervention program designed and developed for therapists and related service providers in choosing activities that enhance fine motor skills in children with Down’s syndrome.</p>

scholarly journals Generalization of motor resonance during the observation of hand, mouth, and eye movements

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 2295-2304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Finisguerra ◽  
Laura Maffongelli ◽  
Michela Bassolino ◽  
Marco Jacono ◽  
Thierry Pozzo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Control ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Muscular Activity ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Finger Movements ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
Motor Activities ◽  
System Activation ◽  
Neural Control Of Movement

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex shows that hand action observation (AO) modulates corticospinal excitability (CSE). CSE modulation alternatively maps low-level kinematic characteristics or higher-level features, like object-directed action goals. However, action execution is achieved through the control of muscle synergies, consisting of coordinated patterns of muscular activity during natural movements, rather than single muscles or object-directed goals. This synergistic organization of action execution also underlies the ability to produce the same functional output (i.e., grasping an object) using different effectors. We hypothesize that motor system activation during AO may rely on similar principles. To investigate this issue, we recorded both hand CSE and TMS-evoked finger movements which provide a much more complete description of coordinated patterns of muscular activity. Subjects passively watched hand, mouth and eyelid opening or closing, which are performing non-object-directed (intransitive) actions. Hand and mouth share the same potential to grasp objects, whereas eyelid does not allow object-directed (transitive) actions. Hand CSE modulation generalized to all effectors, while TMS evoked finger movements only to mouth AO. Such dissociation suggests that the two techniques may have different sensitivities to fine motor modulations induced by AO. Differently from evoked movements, which are sensitive to the possibility to achieve object-directed action, CSE is generically modulated by “opening” vs. “closing” movements, independently of which effector was observed. We propose that motor activities during AO might exploit the same synergistic mechanisms shown for the neural control of movement and organized around a limited set of motor primitives.

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