A physical curriculum for pupils and students with profound and multiple learning difficulties

It is fairly evident that motor and/or perceptual disabilities can severely limit the possibilities for communication (Bullowa, 1979; Coupe O'Kane and Goldbart, 1998). It only takes a short reflection on the relationship of physical dexterity to conventional child development in terms of the ability to reach, grasp, maintain a hold, manipulate, explore, turn towards, turn away from, move towards, move away from, etc., to ascertain that detailed models of very early child development (Uzgiris and Hunt, 1975; Dunst, 1980) will probably not strictly apply to those with physical (and intellectual) impairments.