מתוך medicontext.co.il
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Rhythmic behaviors appear to be similar in children who are and are not at risk for developmental disorders, based on prematurity status, up to age 13 months. In fact, according to a study conducted at the University of Washington in Seattle, early rhythmic behaviors may facilitate development.
Dr. Alan S. Unis and associates videotaped children during periods of free play and while eating a snack. Eighteen subjects were born at 24 to 33 weeks', gestation and 18 were born at full term. Forms of behavior, such as body rocking and hand waving, were assessed for each of the 13-month-olds.
As reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for January, neither the overall level of behaviors nor rhythmic behavior characteristics differed significantly between groups. However, higher levels of rhythmic behavior while snacking were associated with higher Mental Development Index scores for boys, but not girls, at 2 years of age. Higher rhythmic behavior levels during free play were associated with lower scores.
"Even topographically similar behaviors have different functional significance in different settings," the authors maintain. For example, during snack-time, rhythmic behavior may play a role in interactions or expression of need, thus indicating advance development. Furthermore, the investigators add, "We believe these findings are an indication that girls and boys develop cognitively through different pathways."
Dr. Unis and his associates caution against viewing stereotyped behaviors in such young children as abnormal. They write, "It seems more likely that the later abnormal behaviors exhibited by the developmentally disabled group are a modification of a normal developmental process that becomes increasingly deviant" as a child ages.
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