Effects of frequency of feedback on the learning of motor skill in individuals with cerebral palsy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of frequency of knowledge of results (KR) on the learning of dart in individuals with cerebral palsy type I. Twenty-four individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) between the ages of 5 and 17 were chosen for this study. They were put into 3 homogenous groups according to their records after 20 throws and practiced for 8 sessions. The first group (0% KR) received no KR for any trials, the second group (50% KR) received KR for half of their trials (50%), and the third group (100% KR) received KR for all their trials ( 100%). The acquisition test was run immediately after the last session and the retention test was run 3 days later. Paired sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data from the acquisition and retention tests. According to the results of this study, those with cerebral palsy have the ability of acquiring and retaining a new motor skill under the condition of feedback provision. Interestingly it was found that too much feedback interferes with learning of tasks in individuals with CP as in the average population. This finding shows that rules regarding feedback also apply to people afflicted with CP. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.