Fundamental movement skills and balance of children with Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Conclusive evidence supports the importance of fundamental movement skills (FMS) proficiency in promoting physical activity and countering obesity. In children with Down Syndrome (DS), FMS development is delayed, which has been suggested to be associated with balance deficits. This study therefore examined the relationship between FMS proficiency and balance ability in children with DS, with the aim of contributing evidence to programmes that address FMS delay. METHODS: Participants consisted of 20 children with DS (7.1 ± 2.9 years old) and an age-matched control group of children with typical development (7.25 ± 2.5 years). In the first part of the study, FMS (i.e. locomotor and object control) proficiency of the children was tested using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Balance ability was assessed using a force platform to measure centre of pressure average velocity (AV; mm/sec), path length (mm), medio-lateral standard deviation (mm) and antero-posterior standard deviation (mm). In the second part of the study, children with DS participated in 5 weeks of FMS training. FMS proficiency and balance ability were tested post-training and compared to pre-training scores. Verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory capacities were measured at pre-training to verify the role of working memory in skill learning. RESULTS: FMS proficiency was associated with centre of pressure parameters in children with DS but not in children with typical development. After controlling for age, AV was found to predict significant variance in locomotor (R2  = 0.61, P < 0.001) and object control (R2  = 0.69, P < 0.001) scores. FMS proficiency and mastery improved after FMS training, as did AV, path length and antero-posterior standard deviation (all P < 0.05). Verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory did not interact with the effects of training. CONCLUSIONS: Children with DS who have better balance ability tend to have more proficient FMS. Skill-specific training improved not only FMS sub-skills but static balance stability as well. Working memory did not play a role in the changes caused by skills training. Future research should examine the causal relationship between balance and FMS.

Movement specific reinvestment and allocation of attention by older adults during walking.

Older repeat fallers have previously been shown to have a higher propensity to consciously monitor and control their movements (i.e. reinvestment) than non-fallers, yet to direct their attention equally between their limb movements and the external environment during locomotion (Wong et al. in J Am Geriatr Soc 57: 920-922, 2009). Whether increased attention to their movements is a result of falling or originates from a prior inclination to reinvest remains unclear. In order to better understand the interaction between reinvestment and attention during locomotion, this study examined the allocation of attention by older adults who had not fallen but displayed a high or low inclination for reinvestment. Twenty-eight low and twenty-eight high reinvestors were required to perform 30 walking trials. Their allocation of attention during walking was evaluated by asking tone-related attentional focus questions shortly after finishing each walking trial. High reinvestors were found to be more aware of their limb movements and less aware of the external environment. Low reinvestors, on the contrary, were more aware of the surrounding environment and less aware of their movement mechanics. Given that focusing internally to body movements has been proposed to utilise working memory capacity, the ability of high reinvestors to pick up all the environmental information necessary for successful locomotion might be compromised and requires further examination.

Reducing errors benefits the field-based learning of a fundamental movement skill in children.

Proficient fundamental movement skills (FMS) are believed to form the basis of more complex movement patterns in sports. This study examined the development of the FMS of overhand throwing in children through either an error-reduced (ER) or error-strewn (ES) training program. Students (n = 216), aged 8-12 years (M = 9.16, SD = 0.96), practiced overhand throwing in either a program that reduced errors during practice (ER) or one that was ES. ER program reduced errors by incrementally raising the task difficulty, while the ES program had an incremental lowering of task difficulty. Process-oriented assessment of throwing movement form (Test of Gross Motor Development-2) and product-oriented assessment of throwing accuracy (absolute error) were performed. Changes in performance were examined among children in the upper and lower quartiles of the pretest throwing accuracy scores. ER training participants showed greater gains in movement form and accuracy, and performed throwing more effectively with a concurrent secondary cognitive task. Movement form improved among girls, while throwing accuracy improved among children with low ability. Reduced performance errors in FMS training resulted in greater learning than a program that did not restrict errors. Reduced cognitive processing costs (effective dual-task performance) associated with such approach suggest its potential benefits for children with developmental conditions.

Reduction of errors during practice facilitates fundamental movement skill learning in children with intellectual disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) have been found to have inferior motor proficiencies in fundamental movement skills (FMS). This study examined the effects of training the FMS of overhand throwing by manipulating the amount of practice errors. METHODS: Participants included 39 children with ID aged 4-11 years who were allocated into either an error-reduced (ER) training programme or a more typical programme in which errors were frequent (error-strewn, ES). Throwing movement form, throwing accuracy, and throwing frequency during free play were evaluated. RESULTS: The ER programme improved movement form, and increased throwing activity during free play to a greater extent than the ES programme. Furthermore, ER learners were found to be capable of engaging in a secondary cognitive task while manifesting robust throwing accuracy performance. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the use of movement skills training programmes that constrain practice errors in children with ID, suggesting that such approach results in improved performance and heightened movement engagement in free play.

Self-concept and physical self-concept in psychiatric children and adolescents.

Self-concept is a widely examined construct in the area of psychiatric disorders. This study compared the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) scores of adolescents with psychiatric disorders (N=103) with the results of a matched group of non-clinical adolescents (N=103). Self-concept and Physical self-concept were lower in the clinical than in the non-clinical group. Girls (N=59) scored lower than boys (N=44) in both groups. In the different diagnostic groups specific domains were affected in line with symptomatology, which has implications for therapy.