Trisomy 21 and Variability in the Effectiveness of Training Functional Skills
Given the delays affecting children with Down syndrome (T21) in all areas of functional skills (fine and global motor skills, cognition, communication, social skills and autonomy), it is essential to assess them finely in order to stimulate them early to limit secondary disabilities and improve their quality of life. This study examines to what extent 24 children with T21 progress in certain functional skills, when they are trained in a very targeted way, during 18 months, by applying the Assessment, Evaluation and Intervention Program System (AEPS; Bricker, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c), for 0 to 6 years-old children, compared to 19 children with the same syndrome, without the AEPS stimulation (control group) The analyses compared the scores in different domains, at three times, of AEPS group and control group, divided in developmental age subgroups (0-3 and 3-6 years). Globally, the results showed a significant and higher progression in functional skills in several domains, over time in the AEPS subgroups, compared to the control subgroups by group*time interaction effects).