ABSTRACT
In the typical development of children's dexterity, we observe the hands as organs of performance that facilitate practical life. The work of Elinor Goldschmeid in the 1980s described how manipulative skills are part of refining thinking. She coined the phrase 'heuristic play' for infants' self-directed play. Her work has been continued by Anita Hughes. Movement is a primary means by which we experience space, direction, speed, time, weight and force. Our understanding of sequences and rhythm originates from core knowledge and develops through moving. Many SLD children and children with neurological disorders such as dyspraxia have difficulties with movement, and many PMLD children have no experience of independent mobility. The work of Lilli Nielsen developing the 'little room' and 'resonance boards' introduced us to ideas about devising learning environments immediately around children in which they can scan and reach independently to find stimulation and create deliberate actions.
