Gross motor skill evaluation in adolescents with Down syndrome

The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of gross motor skills of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) older than 10 years of age. Nine individuals with DS between 14 and 20 years (17.89±2.20) were recruited from “Centro de Acao Social Espaco Livre”, Sao Paulo, SP. They were videotaped performing six locomotor skills (running, galloping, hoping, leaping, horizontal jumping, sliding) and six object control skills (striking a stationary ball, stationary dribbling, catching, kicking, overhand throwing, underhand rolling) on one occasion at the same place where they were recruited. All performed skills were analyzed by three trained evaluators according to specific criteria to determine their age equivalent for both locomotor and object control skills. All participants presented age equivalent under their chronological age for all skills. According to these results, we conclude that individuals with DS above 10 years old present a developmental delay on gross motor skills. We also suggest that future investigations take into account an intervention protocol to DS individuals older than 10 years of age in order to verify its effects of it on these individuals’ motor behavior.