Nature and Specificity of Gestural Disorder in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Multiple Case Study.

Praxis assessment in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is usually based on tests of adult apraxia, by comparing across types of gestures and input modalities. However, the cognitive models of adult praxis processing are rarely used in a comprehensive and critical interpretation. These models generally involve two systems: a conceptual system and a production system.

Praxis skills and executive function in children with neurofibromatosis type 1.

This study aimed at examining motor and ideomotor praxis skills in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). The impact of executive dysfunction, frequently described in children with NF1, on the expression of praxis impairments was also studied. Eighteen children with NF1 were included and matched with 20 control children for age (7-14 years), sex, laterality, and parental education level.

Involvement of Technical Reasoning More Than Functional Knowledge in Development of Tool Use in Childhood.

It is well-known that even toddlers are able to manipulate tools in an appropriate manner according to their physical properties. The ability of children to make novel tools in order to solve problems is, however, surprisingly limited. In adults, mechanical problem solving (MPS) has been proposed to be supported by "technical reasoning skills," which are thought to be involved in every situation requiring the use of a tool (whether conventional or unusual).

Association between a color and a manual response activation modulates the response planning of typically developing children in a subsequent Simon task.

The Simon effect usually refers to the observation that responding to a nonspatial feature of a stimulus is faster when the position of the stimulus (task-irrelevant) matches the position of the to-be-executed response. The Simon effect can disappear when the Simon task is preceded by a spatial compatibility task with an incompatible mapping. In this experiment, during a preliminary phase, 20 children had to decide whether the outline of a colored stimulus was dotted or continuous.