To help a baby with Down syndrome sit and walk faster, the child should be taken to physical therapy from the third or fourth month of life to about 5 years of age, sessions are usually done 2 or 3 times a week and are performed in several exercises disguised as games that aim to stimulate the child early so that he or she can hold his or her head , roll, sit, stand and walk faster.
Children with Down syndrome who undergo physical therapy usually start walking around age 2, while a child who does not undergo physical therapy can only start walking after age 4, demonstrating the benefits of physiotherapy for the motor development of these children.
- Physical therapy includes terrestrial therapy and psychomotor stimulation.
- Where objects such as mirrors.
- Balls.
- Foams.
- Tatamis.
- Circuits and various educational toys that stimulate the senses are used.
- Whose main advantages are:.
The Bobath technique is also a good way to stimulate the development of children with Down syndrome and consists of exercises performed on the ground or with the balloon, which act on both sides of the body and control to improve the development of the childhood nervous system.’children.
The use of bandages that are a kind of colored tape applied to the skin is also a resource that can be used to facilitate learning tasks such as being able to sit alone, for example, in this case the duct tape can be applied as a cross over the child’s belly so that it has more firmness and can lift the trunk from the ground , because this movement requires good control of the abdominal muscles, which are usually very weak in case of Down syndrome.
Physiotherapeutic treatment of Down syndrome should be individualized because each child needs all the attention during activities, depending on their motor skills and needs, but some goals and examples of exercises are:
Watch the video below and learn how to boost the development of children with Down syndrome:
In addition to this type of ground physiotherapy, there is also physiotherapy with horses, which is called hypotherapy, in this document horseback riding itself helps to improve the balance of children.
Typically, this type of treatment starts between 2 and 3 years with sessions once a week, but some exercises that may be indicated are:
Children who perform both hypotherapy and floor physiotherapy have been shown to have better postural adjustments and have adaptive responses so as not to fall faster, have better movement control and are able to improve their posture.body faster.
See what exercises can help your child talk faster.