ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the development of the fundamental motor skills of posture, locomotion and manual skills. It provides an overview of change from birth to puberty. Once the child can move independently around the environment, other skills can then be developed. As the child develops they need to control their head and neck and be able to make adjustments if they move. As the pull-to-stand skills improve, muscles in the thigh segment were added and a distal-to-proximal sequence began to emerge in infants 9–11 months of age, as independent stance eventually emerges. Manual control refers to an individual’s ability to voluntarily control and complete a desired task or action involving reaching for, grasping and manipulation of an object. Manual skill is a general term for the arm and hand movements used to control objects. The arm and the hand are the primary units, with the arm having the functions of support, positioning, and force.
