Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / This study was conducted for the purpose of determining the effectiveness of a home-based motor activity program on children with Down syndrome 6 to 10 years of age. Twenty-six children with Down syndrome and their respective families participated in this twelve-week study. The Circles Of Learning instructional program was created, and fieldtested. The Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) provided base-line data for measures of progress in fundamental motor skills.
Parents were instructed in how to teach locomotor skills and object control skills as measured by the TGMD. The methods required seven distinct activities: the creation of an instructional manual; recruitment and instruction of project assistants; identification and recruitment of the subjects and their families; pretest and posttest assessment of subjects; instructional training of parents; and the twelve week intervention. The comparison (C) group received the Handwriting Without Tears program during the 12 week intervention period.
When compared with the (C) group, all subjects in the experimental (E) group showed statistically significant improvement in the acquisition of fundamental motor skills as measured by the TGMD. Four (E) group subjects improved to the "average" range for typically developing children. Ten of the 11 (E) group subjects continued to improved their demonstrated fundamental motor skill performance two weeks after the intervention, while one subject maintained his gains. Weekly parent comments during the intervention gave testimony to the effectiveness of the intervention supporting primary and secondary gains for the subjects. Parents reported that interactions between family members and the subjects increased and fundamental motor skills improved during spontaneous unstructured play and during organized activities at home and at school.
This study challenges the previous research suggesting children with Down syndrome need specialized motor development programs. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the acquisition of fundamental motor skills for children with Down syndrome can be accelerated.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/33533 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Passarini, John Richard |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | This work is being made available in OpenBU by permission of its author, and is available for research purposes only. All rights are reserved to the author. |
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