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Enabling 2-Wheeled Cycling for Youth With Down Syndrome
Janine Halayko1, Joyce Magill-Evans, Veronica Smith
1Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (Ms Halayko, Dr Magill-Evans, and Dr Smith), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Dr Polatajko), University of Toronto Neuroscience Program, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Purpose:
To study the effectiveness of cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance (CO-OP) to teach motor skills to youth with intellectual disabilities.
Methods:
Six youth aged 12 to 19 years participated in this study. A multiple baseline design was employed to evaluate distance and time cycled, and a pre-post-follow-up design was used to evaluate the effect on cycling skills mastered, cycling performance, and parent satisfaction.
Results:
At follow-up, 5 of the 6 youth rode their 2-wheeled bicycles over 100 m in their communities (range, 103-1400 m) and demonstrated improved cycling skills and parent satisfaction.
Conclusions:
The skills acquired by youth with Down syndrome using a CO-OP approach exceeded what has been reported in the literature. CO-OP offers a promising alternative to existing approaches for teaching 2-wheeled cycling to youth with Down syndrome.
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