Motor skills, cognitive development and balance functions of children with Down syndrome
Journal Title: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine - Year 2013, Vol 20, Issue 4
Abstract
Introduction and objectives: Motor and cognitive development of children with Down syndrome (DS) is delayed and inharmonic. Neuro–muscular abnormalities, such as hypotonia, retained primary reflexes, and slow performance of volitional reaction, result in difficulties with body balance. The aim of the presented study is to assess the global motor functions and body balance of children with DS in relation to age and mental development. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 79 children with DS (42 boys, 37 girls), average age 6 years and 3 months ± 4 years and 6 months. Participants were divided according to age range into 3 groups: < 3 years old, 3 – 6 years old, > 6 years old. Children were assessed using Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) and Paediatric Balance Scale (PBS). Psychological diagnosis served to determine the degree of mental development using the Brunet–Lezine Scale for children younger than 3 years old, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) for those who are older than 3 years. Nine children in research group had not been diagnosed by psychologists, which is the reason why the analysis referring to mental development was performed in 70 children (34 girls, 36 boys), with an average age of 4 years and 6 months. Results: GMFM–88 scores were significantly lower in children with moderate psychomotor delay than in children with mild psychomotor delay, or normally developed children, p=0.043. GMFM-88 scores in children with profound mental impairment were lower than in children with mild or moderate mental impairment. There was a statistical significant correlation between GMFM-88 scores and the PBS scores, r= 0.7, p<0.0001. Conclusions: Motor development of children with Down syndrome from towns and villages in the Greater Poland region is associated with cognitive development, especially in the first three years of life, with the balance functions being closely related to motor skills.
Authors and Affiliations
Roksana Malak, Malgorzata Kotwicka, Agnieszka Krawczyk-Wasielewska, Ewa Mojs, Włodzimierz Samborski
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP80709
- DOI -
- Views 147
- Downloads 0
Evaluation of incidence frequency and analysis of risk factors for the occurrence of back pain in a randomly-chosen group in the Podkarpackie Region of south-eastern Poland
[b]Objective.[/b] The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of incidence and analysis of the risk factors for the occurrence of back pain (BP) in a group of professionally active inhabitants of the Podkarpackie...
Assessment of annual exposure of private farmers to whole body mechanical vibration on selected family farms of plant production profile.
The objective of the study was evaluation of an annual exposure of private farmers to whole body mechanical vibration on selected family farms of plant production profile. The study covered 15 family farms, using arable...
Comparison of farmers workload by manual and mechanical tasks on family farms
The aim of this study was to compare the workload between tasks undertaken manually and those with the assistance of mechanical devices. The results indicate that the workload during the tasks assisted by mechanisation w...
Level of glycation gap in a healthy subject
Introduction. The discordance between glycated hemoglobin (HbA[sub]1C[/sub]) and fructosamine (FA) estimations in the assessment of glycemia is often encountered. A number of mechanisms might explain such discordance, bu...
The impact of intensity of invasion of <em>Ixodes ricinus</em> and <em>Dermacentor reticulatus</em> on the course of the parasitic phase
Investigations into the effect of the intensity of invasion on tick-questing behaviour were conducted on 3 groups of rabbits: 1) 10 females and 5 males, 2) 20 females and 10 males, 3) 40 females and 20 males in the case...