Motor Competence in Individuals with Down Syndrome: Is an Improvement Still Possible in Adulthood?

Abstract

In children, motor competence (MC) and the amount of physical activity are tightly interconnected. In adults with Down syndrome (DS), MC has been poorly addressed, resulting in a limited understanding of the possibility to improve MC over time. Here, we aim to: (1) investigate MC in adults with DS by comparing them with a group of typically developed peers and (2) verify the effect of an adapted karate program on MC. Adults with DS (DSG; n = 57) and typically developed adults (TDG; n = 21) performed the Test of Gross Motor Development version 3 (TGMD-3). The total TGMD-3 score (^TOTTGMD-3), the locomotor (^LOCTGMD-3), and object control (^OBJTGMD-3) scores were computed. After a 40 week adapted karate program, DSG (n = 37) underwent the post-training TGMD-3 assessment. Compared to TDG, DSG showed lower ^TOTTGMD-3 (DSG: 45.5 ± 17.3; TDG: 77.3 ± 9.5), ^LOCTGMD-3 (DSG: 22.2 ± 10.0; TDG: 36.2 ± 7.6) and ^OBJTGMD-3 (DSG: 23.3 ± 10.9; TDG: 41.1 ± 5.6). After the training, ^TOTTGMD-3, ^LOCTGMD-3 and ^OBJTGMD-3 increased by 35.6%, 30.0% and 40.7%, respectively. Our results suggest that MC acquisition does not evolve into a mature form in adulthood in individuals with DS. Moreover, a brief exposure to an adapted karate program induces an increase in motor competence in DS, even in adulthood.

Keywords: TGMD-3; adapted training; karate; motor development; physical activity; skill assessment.

Figure 1

^TOTTGMD-3, ^LOCTGMD-3, ^OBJTGMD-3 scores for the DSG and TDG groups. The boxplots report the medians (squares in the box) and the 25%, and 75% limits. The whiskers report the data ranges. * Denotes significant differences between the two groups. The significance level was set to α = 0.05. The Bonferroni-corrected significance level was 0.017.

Figure 2

TGMD-3 total, locomotor, and object control scores before (blue bars) and after (red bars) the adapted karate physical intervention. The data are reported as means and SD. The significance level was set to α = 0.05. The Bonferroni-corrected significance level was 0.017. * Denotes significant differences between the pre and post intervention assessments.

Figure 3

The left column proposes the scatterplots of the ^TOTTGMD-3, ^LOCTGMD-3, and ^OBJTGMD-3 scores measured in the pre- and post-intervention assessments, which are represented in the upper (a), middle (b), and lower panels (c), respectively. The identity line (straight black line) is indicated to highlight the variations in the scores; dots on the upper left side of the identity line indicate an increased score, whereas dots on the lower right side of the identity line indicate decreased score from pre- to post-intervention assessment. The data were fitted with a second-order polynomial (red line). The right column shows the average increase in ^TOTTGMD-3 (d), ^LOCTGMD-3 (e), and ^OBJTGMD-3 (f), grouped by pre-intervention ^TOTTGMD-3 score.

Figure 4

Radar plot showing the median score obtained by the DSG-POST (red line) and TDG (green line) in the single skills included in the TGMD-3. The red and green bands indicate the SEM for the two groups (same color code). The asterisks denote significant differences between the two groups at the 0.05 level.