Effect of Vestibular Stimulation Exercises on Motor Proficiency in Down Syndrome Children

Down syndrome as a genetic disorder is one of the major causes of intellectual disability, which leads to delays in motor skill. Since dysplasia of the internal ear structure is common in these individuals, and internal ear abnormalities have been observed in about 75% of patients, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of vestibular stimulation exercises on motor proficiency in Down syndrome children.

The statistical sample was 20 girl student’s with Down syndrome (age=10/2±2 years, height =125/1±9/4 cm, weight=32±5/8 kg, and BMI=20/5±3/5 kg/m2) who were randomly divided in to two groups. The intervention of the research, Mind in Motion Maze program, specifically aimed at vestibular stimulating in the form of the game, consisting of 15 exercise stations, performed 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Bruininks-Oseretsky test was used to assess motor Proficiency. Data analyses were conducted using SPSS, version 20. For all statistical tests, the level of significance was set at P ≤ 0.05 using two-way Analysis of Variance.

The results of the study showed that at the end of the intervention period, there was a significant difference in the factors of running speed and agility (P ≤ 0.05), balance (P ≤ 0.05), bilateral coordination (P ≤ 0.05), Response speed (P ≤ 0.05), upper-limb speed and dexterity (P ≤ 0.05), and in total, gross motor skill (P ≤ 0.05) and fine motor skill (P ≤ 0.05) in the experimental group.

Assessment of motor proficiency in children with Down syndrome showed improvement in their motor abilities after eight weeks of vestibular stimulation exercises. According to the findings, it is recommended that vestibular stimulation exercises can help improve and increase the motor proficiency in children with Down Syndrome. However, more studies are needed to be able to conclude definitively.