ABSTRACT
This chapter presents information on motor skill development strategies to help adapted physical educators teach motor skills to children with disabilities. Motor skills, particularly skills termed phylogenetic that appear throughout the human species, emerge and require little instruction for achievement. Development of fundamental motor skills is influenced by an intricate interaction between nature and environment/opportunity. Fundamental locomotor skills are those that propel the mover through three-dimensional space. Walking is the most basic of bipedal locomotor skills. Non-locomotor skills are defined as movements that are stationary. Manipulative skills can be divided into two general categories; receipt and propulsion. Examples of manipulative skills include rolling, throwing, catching, kicking, striking, serial ball bouncing as in basketball, dribbling as in soccer, passing, and volleying. Variable practice could involve learning completely different skills during the learning session. Once the overall motor program is developed, then varied practice will enhance absolute timing and facilitate transfer to related skills.
