Evidence for a memory consolidation phase in a self-feeding activity among toddlers with developmental delays
1. Evidence for a memory consolidation phase in a self-feeding activity among toddlers with developmental delays Shira Golan 1 & Shoshi Dorfberger 2 1 Israel Elwyn, Haifa, Israel. 2 Gordon College of Education, Haifa, Israel.
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4. Methods 23 participants, 2-3-year-olds toddlers with developmental delays, took part in the experiment. In the first session each participant underwent training consisting of 12 repetitions of eating a bite-size “snake” after taking it out of a small cup using a pincer-grasp. In the second session (24-hours post-training) participants were tested in 4 successive repetitions identical to the first session.
5. Results There were significant within-session gains in the trained task, but also significant delayed gains, without additional practice, which were expressed by performance at 24-hours post-training. The delayed gains constituted shortened performance times with no speed-accuracy trade-off.
6. Conclusion Our results indicate the existence of an effective consolidation phase in the training of self –feeding. This can be used to assist in building an intervention-plan designed for toddlers with developmental delays.