Explain the difference in cephalocaudal and proximodistal motor development and provide an example of each; and describe four adaptive reflexes show by infants, including how each is elicited and how each aids survival

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer will include that muscular control that spreads in a cephalocaudal pattern occurs from head to toes, and the proximodistal pattern occurs from the center of the body to the extremities. An example of the cephalocaudal pattern would be that a baby gains control of their neck muscles then their trunk and they crawl before they walk. Regarding proximodistal, a baby will grab an object with their whole arms, then their hands, and lastly with the ends of their fingers. (Students may give different examples of these two patterns.) Four adaptive reflexes shown by infants include the grasping reflex, the Moro reflex, the rooting reflex, and the sucking reflex. To elicit the grasping reflex, one presses an object in the neonate's palm, and he or she will grasp the object with surprising strength. The grasping reflex aids survival by helping infants avoid falling. If a baby's position is changed abruptly or if she is startled by a loud noise, he or she will make a hugging motion, called the Moro reflex, which helps keep a baby from falling. By touching an infant's cheek, the rooting reflex involves the child turning his or head in the direction of the touch and moving the mouth as if searching for a nipple to nurse. When a nipple does touch the infant's mouth, the sucking reflex, or rhythmic nursing, will occur. So, both the rooting reflex and the sucking reflex help the infant to find food.