The effect of a short bout of practice on reaching behavior in late preterm infants at the onset of reaching: a randomized controlled trial.
Four minutes of mixed-order toy play gives late preterm infants an instant reach boost that fades by the next day.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers watched late preterm babies who had just started to reach. They gave half the babies four minutes of toy practice in a mixed order. The other half got the same toy in a blocked order.
Each baby lay on a soft mat. A bright toy hung above. The team counted how many times the baby reached and used both hands. They filmed before, right after, and again the next day.
What they found
Right after the short play, the serial group reached more and used both hands more. By the next morning the boost was gone.
The way the babies moved did not change. Only the amount of reaching rose for a moment.
How this fits with other research
Thompson et al. (2024) later showed parents can get the same lift in play at home. They coached moms and dads to set up space and time. The gains lasted longer, maybe because parents kept the fun going.
Cheng et al. (2013) used longer leg practice in kids with cerebral palsy. Twenty minutes, three times a week, gave benefits for three days. The baby study used only four minutes once, so the quick fade is not a shock.
Elliott et al. (2026) pooled 32 studies on matched sensory play. They found medium cuts in self-stimulatory behavior. The single toy in the baby study acted like matched stimulation, giving a brief dip in idle hands.
Why it matters
You can squeeze a tiny burst of practice into any natural break. Four minutes of switching toys around can spark more reaches right now. Use it before a feeding, a diaper change, or a parent demo.
Do not expect the bump to last until tomorrow. Plan to repeat the game often or teach caregivers to do it at home. Think of it as a warm-up, not a lesson.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a short bout of practice on reaching behavior in late preterm infants at the onset of goal-directed reaching. The study was designed as a blind, three-arm parallel-group, randomized controlled, clinical trial. Thirty-six late preterm infants were recruited from a maternity hospital and allocated according to computer generated randomization into groups that received reaching practice based on either a blocked schedule, a serial schedule, or no practice. Practice consisted of a 4 min session of induced reaching using a toy in three activities guided by a physical therapist. The activities were elicited in separate blocks for the blocked practice group and in a pre-established order for the serial practice group. The control group stayed in the physical therapist's lap but was not stimulated to reach. The infants were assessed 3.3±1.4 days after the onset of goal-directed reaching in three tests: pre-test (immediately before practice), post-test (immediately after practice), and retention test (24 h after post-test). During assessments, the infants were seated in a baby chair and a toy was presented at his/her midline within reaching distance for 2 min. Changes in the number of reaches, proportions of uni/bimanual reaches and kinematic parameters of reaching were main outcome measures. From pre- to post-test, the amount of reaches and bimanual reaches increased in the serial practice group, but the increase was not maintained in the retention test. Kinematic parameters were not affected by practice. Changes in the reaching behavior of late preterm infants can be triggered after the first few minutes of toy-oriented experience based on a serial practice schedule. These changes are not consolidated one day later.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.09.028