Do Motor Synchrony Games Improve Self Regulation?

The goal of this study is to determine if progressively more challenging playground games (motor synchrony games) improve executive function in preschool-aged children.

Self-regulation (SR) skills in early childhood predict later academic achievement and protect against developing internalizing and externalizing problems such as depressive symptoms or aggressive behavior (McClelland et al., 2019; Robson et al., 2020). One way to target SR skills is to use a program that involves motor synchrony games (e.g., musical freeze) (Gibb et al., 2021; McClelland et al., 2019; Zelazo et al., 2018). This study seeks to implement a similar motor synchrony games protocol in mixed ability groups to target SR. The investigators plan to use a multiple baseline design, a type of single case experimental design, to characterize the growth for individual participants.

The specific aims are as follows:

Aim 1: To determine if targeted motor synchrony games can achieve an increase in SR.

Aim 2: To examine how individual participants, including those with and without disabilities, respond to the protocol.

(Protocol modified in October:) Aim 3: Determine if hurricane Helene impacted the self-regulation of participants

Schedule: During the study, participants will begin baseline procedures twice a week for (approximately) 6, 9, 12 sessions (12 session group must have 3 sessions post-hurricane Helene). Afterwards, the participants will start the intervention. During baseline and intervention, the investigators measure their completion of a progressively more challenging stop and go task and imitations as the repeated measure. This procedure reflects a multiple baseline design.

As an exploratory analysis, all enrolled participants will complete assessments at 5 times: initial time point, before starting intervention, after hurricane Helene, after intervention procedures complete, and 2 months follow-up. (Post-hurricane data point was added due to the \~3 week shut down that disrupted the study in October. Parents could opt-out of these specific procedures.)

Intervention procedures: In the intervention period, participants will join the investigators in intervention sessions that last approximately 20-25 minutes and will involve rhythm and motor games or activities. All games are designed to have aspects of synchronous movement but should be fun and developmentally appropriate.

Following completion of the intervention, the investigators will graph the results for visual inspection of the stop and go and imitation data. The investigators also will calculate Tau-U statistics (including correcting for baseline trend).

The investigators plan to use the other assessment measures in two ways: the investigators will use an ANOVA to determine if there were significant differences between assessment time points. The investigators also will use a regression to account for the actual time that has passed.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Enrolled in the preschool classroom
* Express at least one word
* Runs independently

Exclusion Criteria:

* Known motor disorder
* Parents report the child cannot hear spoken language
* Parents report the child cannot see person gesturing 10 feet away