Development of role‐differentiated bimanual manipulation in infancy: Part 1. The emergence of the skill

Abstract

This is the first paper in a series of three discussing different aspects of the development of role-differentiated bimanual manipulation (RDBM-two hands performing different but complementary actions on an object). Emergence of RDBM is an important shift in the development of infant manual skills. Trajectories of monthly changes in the number of RDBMs and RDBM hand preference were explored in a sample of 90 (57 males) normally developing infants (30 with a right preference for acquiring objects, 30 with a left preference, 30 with no preference) during the 9-14 month period. Multilevel analysis revealed that infants performed more RDBMs with age, with similar patterns of change in all hand preference groups. A hand-use preference for RDBM became more prominent with age with most right-preferring infants and those without a preference for object acquisition developing right-hand preference for RDBM. Left-preferring infants exhibited more heterogeneity in their hand-use for RDBM.

To Screen or Not to Screen Universally for Autism is not the Question: Why the Task Force Got It Wrong

“…Thus 1 year is the youngest possible age that validated interventions could theoretically be implemented. Third, around the 1 st birthday, an explosion of new skills emerge in toddlers: walking 129 , talking 130 , bi-manual manipulation of objects 131 , and engaging in shared attention with others 132 . In short, children become highly interactive with their environment and the people in it at this age, making them ready to engage in treatment, even those toddlers that have not mastered the aforementioned skills.…”

Hand selection for role‐differentiated bimanual manipulation in a beading task: An assessment of typically developing children

“…Bimanual control emerges between ages 4 and 7 months (Kimmerle et al, ; Kimmerle et al, ; Rochat, ). Although early movements are more reflexive than voluntary, partially differentiated roles are demonstrated after the first year (Babik & Michel, ; Gonzalez & Nelson, ; Kimmerle et al, ; Ramsay & Weber, ). With age, the nonpreferred hand is better able to hold and stabilize, whereas the preferred hand becomes more proficient with manipulation (Kimmerle et al, ).…”

Hand selection in a preferential reaching task: The effects of object location, orientation, and task intention in preadolescent children

“…Role‐differentiated bimanual manipulation emerges early in a child's life, such that partially differentiates roles for each hand are displayed by approximately 13 months (Babik & Michel, 2016). Throughout development, the preferred hand establishes itself in a holding and stabilizing role, whereas the nonpreferred hand becomes more proficient at object manipulation (Kimmerle, Ferre, Kotwica, & Michel, 2010).…”

“…Such findings were concurrent with the dynamic dominance hypothesis proposed by Sainburg et al. (Mutha, Haaland, & Sainburg, 2012; Przybyla, Good, & Sainburg, 2012; Sainburg, 2005; Sainburg & Kalakanis, 2000; Sainburg & Wang, 2002) and related literature assessing role‐differentiated bimanual manipulation (Babik & Michel, 2016; Kimmerle, Mick, & Michel, 1995; Ramsay & Weber, 1986). Here, the preferred hand is considered role‐differentiated bimanual manipulation hand preference, as it performs the more complex, mobilizing aspect of the task, whereas the nonpreferred hand serves a more subservient, stabilizing role (Guiard, 1987; Peters, 1994).…”