Fine Motor Development Growth Curves for Down Syndrome

Area of Science:

• Developmental Pediatrics
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Motor Development

Background:

• Children with Down syndrome (DS) often exhibit delays in fine motor skills.
• Understanding typical developmental trajectories is crucial for identifying and supporting children with DS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop normative growth curves for fine motor development in children with Down syndrome.
• To specifically assess grasping and visual motor integration skills.
• To provide tools for early identification and intervention.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of a large cohort of children with Down syndrome.
• Data collected from the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2nd Edition (PDMS-2).
• Analysis of children from birth to 6 years of age.

Main Results:

• Children with Down syndrome showed delayed fine motor and visual motor development compared to typically developing peers.
• Grasping and visual motor integration raw scores demonstrated an increase with age.
• A negative association was observed between fine motor quotient and age.

Conclusions:

• The developed Down syndrome-specific percentile curves can aid in identifying children needing further assessment.
• These curves will be valuable for future research on factors influencing fine motor development in DS.
• The data can help parents interpret developmental test results and understand their child's progress.