An experimental analysis of a neurobehavioral motor intervention.

This study reports the effects of a neurobehavioral intervention approach on the motor skills of four children with cerebral palsy between 21 and 34 months of age. The intervention is based on the merging of neuromotor and behavioral approaches. The behavioral approach, using principles of 'how to teach', addressed motivational issues and allowed for precise definitions of expected outcomes which assisted in measuring acquisition and generalization of behaviors. The neuromotor approach provided 'what to teach' by focusing the intervention on underlying movement components (e.g., trunk rotation, weight bearing) rather than discrete milestone skills. The impact of the approach was assessed using a multiple-baseline design replicated three times. The children demonstrated the movement component by using it to perform both a treated exemplar skill (i.e. a motor skill requiring the movement component for execution) and an untreated exemplar skill.