The effects of a neurobehavioral intervention on motor skill acquisition and generalization

This study reports the effects of a neurobehavioral intervention approach o n the motor skills of 4 young children with cerebral palsy. The interventio n is a hybrid of behavioral and neuromotor and approaches. The behavioral a pproach used principles of "how to teach" by addressing motivational issues and precise definitions of expected outcomes. The neuromotor approach spec ified "what to teach" by focusing on underlying movement components. The im pact of the approach was assessed with a multiple baseline design. Children demonstrated generalization of the movement component by using it to perfo rm both a treated exemplar skill and an untreated exemplar skill. The study extends previous findings by demonstrating that motor skills can be treate d concurrently, thus enhancing the efficiency of the intervention.