Gross Motor Skills in Children with Down Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals
- Book Review,
by Patricia C. Winders
George T. Capone, M.D., Director, Down Syndrome Clinic, Kennedy Krieger Institute
"This monograph represents the single-most important and user friendly resource on gross motor skills in children with Down syndrome to date."
Book Description
Children with Down syndrome master basic gross motor skills-everything from rolling over to running-just as their peers do, but may need additional help. This guide illustrates more than 100 activities for parents and professionals to practice with children from birth through age six. Checklists allow readers to plan and track a child's progress.
From the Publisher
A REVIEW - "Children with Down syndrome have enormous potential, but until recently it was not known how to help them fully develop their abilities. Working to improve the development of a child's gross motor skills is especially satisfying because progress in this area of development is easy to see. Although your child will acquire motor skills more slowly than children who do not have Down syndrome, they will eventually dominate basic abilities, such as sitting, such as dancing, swimming, horseback riding, karate, jogging and mastering various sports. Gross motor skills will frequently turn out to be a strong area for children with Down syndrome. And like all children, they have the ability to improve and develop new motor skills throughout their lives. This book explains how to tend to your child's needs in order to adequately develop those skills. With this in mind, the author-a physical therapist with more than fifteen years of experience, as well as a specialist in the area of gross motor development in children with Down syndrome-has written this excellent guide for parents and professionals. It includes all the necessary information for stimulating the motor development of your child with Down syndrome from birth until he attends school. The book is divided into two sections. The first part covers from birth until the stage when your child is learning to walk; the second half explores development from this point onward. In addition to the detailed explanation of each skill, every chapter offers numerous practical exercises or activities. An analysis of how a child's temperament (calm or active) can influence the development of specific skills is also provided. The book concludes by offering a long list of milestones or goals that relate to specific skills. Throughout this work, the author explores how other factors related to Down syndrome-physical characteristics such as short arms; respiratory medical problems; and even temperament-can influence motor development. The materials needed for the activities are common articles that can be found in most households: the sofa, the bed, the floor, pillows, and, of course, lots of toys. The format of the book is clear and logical and includes a lot of good photographs. The author demonstrates respect for each child's particular style of development by letting him or her invent-to a certain degree and within reasonable limits-his or her own style of moving. This guide is realistic, practical, and more entertaining than other books published on the subject." -English translation of review in Sndrome de Down, Marzo 1998 Fundacin Sndrome de Down of Cantabria
About the Author
Patricia Winders is a physical therapist who works with children and adults with Down syndrome at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
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