ArticlesGross motor function of children with down syndrome: Creation of motor growth curves☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Participants
One hundred thirty-three children with DS, 1 month to 6 years of age, who were or had been clients of early intervention programs in southern Ontario, Canada, were enrolled in a study that examined the validity of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)23 for evaluating change in children with DS.24 The data from the initial GMFM assessment were further analyzed to meet the objectives of the present study. Informed consent of a parent or guardian was obtained for each subject. Ten subjects who
Results
The plots of the observed GMFM scores and the motor growth curve for children with mild motor impairment are in figure 1, and those for children with moderate or severe motor impairment are in figure 2.
Discussion
The relationship between age and gross motor function in children with DS during the first 6 years of life is represented by motor growth curves in which scores improve the fastest at younger ages, then level off as the predicted upper limit of gross motor function is approached. The difference rate and upper limit parameters for the curves suggest that motor impairment has a discernable effect on rate of improvement but only a slight effect on ultimate achievement of gross motor function
Conclusions
The present study contributes to the understanding of gross motor function of children with DS by providing evidence about the rate of improvement and upper limit of motor function during the first 6 years of life. The results indicate that children with DS require more time to learn movements as movement complexity increases and that, on average, children with DS did not completely achieve by the age of 6 years the motor abilities measured by the GMFM. The results should prove useful in
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Cited by (0)
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Supported by the Medical Research Council of Canada.
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No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.
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Reprint requests to Robert J. Palisano, ScD, MCP, Hahnemann University, Dept of Rehabilitation Sciences, MS 502, 245 N Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192, e-mail: [email protected].
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