Hand-Use Preferences for Reaching and Object Exploration in Children with Impaired Upper Extremity Functioning: The Role of Environmental Affordances

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Author(s)Babik, Iryna
Author(s)Lobo, Michele A.
Date Accessioned2024-02-20T19:59:50Z
Date Available2024-02-20T19:59:50Z
Publication Date2023-12-05
DescriptionThis article was originally published in Symmetry. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/sym15122161. © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
AbstractInfants and young children with weakened or impaired upper extremity functioning often develop a strong hand-use “preference” for reaching and object manipulation. While “preferring” their stronger hand, they often partially or completely ignore their “non-preferred” hand. Such manual lateralization might impede complex object exploration, which would negatively affect children’s cognitive development. The question is whether environmental affordances would significantly affect children’s manifested hand-use “preferences” by promoting the use of the “non-preferred” hand. The current sample included 17 children (5 males; 13.9 ± 8.7 months at baseline) with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (arthrogryposis). The reaching and object exploration of the children were evaluated longitudinally across a 6-month period with and without the Playskin LiftTM exoskeletal garment (Playskin). Results showed that the use of the Playskin increased both unimanual and bimanual object contact. Also, when anti-gravity support was provided to the arms by the Playskin, children significantly increased the use of their non-preferred hand, which correlated with improved quality of object play—more bimanual object interaction and greater intensity, variability, and complexity of exploration. These findings suggest that hand-use “preference” in children with arthrogryposis is quite malleable during early development. It is likely that children with impaired upper extremity functioning do not “prefer” to use a particular hand but, rather, cannot afford using both hands due to their limited muscular or manual abilities. Importantly, environmental affordances (i.e., anti-gravity support for the arms) might significantly affect the early development of manual lateralization, with potential implications for children’s quality of object exploration and future cognitive development.
SponsorThis research was supported by NIH grant 1R21HD076092-01A1.
CitationBabik I, Lobo MA. Hand-Use Preferences for Reaching and Object Exploration in Children with Impaired Upper Extremity Functioning: The Role of Environmental Affordances. Symmetry. 2023; 15(12):2161. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym15122161
ISSN2073-8994
URLhttps://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/34004
Languageen_US
PublisherSymmetry
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywordsreaching
Keywordsobject exploration
Keywordshand-use preference
Keywordsarthrogryposis multiplex congenita
KeywordsPlayskin LiftTM exoskeletal garment
Keywordschildren
TitleHand-Use Preferences for Reaching and Object Exploration in Children with Impaired Upper Extremity Functioning: The Role of Environmental Affordances
TypeArticle
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