Early Development

From the moment a new baby is born, we watch the baby's progress eagerly, anticipating all developmental milestones.  Early Development focuses on the long-term functional outcome for your child in areas of movement, play, social interaction, communication and independence.

Parents will naturally have questions about the likely severity of their child's possible delay. As a result of such logical questions, parents may focus on the rate of their child's gross motor development because this is the first test of the child's developmental rate.

The rate of gross motor development in children with Down syndrome is influenced by three primary physical problems that affect their gross motor development: hypotonia (low muscle tone), decreased strength, and hypermobility of the joints (loose joints). In order to cope with these problems, they may develop compensatory movement patterns that can lead to problems later in life.

For example, some children with Down syndrome may lack stability, and will compensate by standing and walking with their feet wide apart, knees stiff, and their feet turned out. If this atypical pattern is allowed to persist, problems will develop in their knees and feet, walking will become painful, and their endurance will be diminished.

"The appropriate goal of physiotherapy is not to accelerate their rate of gross motor development, as is commonly assumed. Rather, the goal is to facilitate their development of gross motor skills, while minimizing the development of abnormal compensatory movement patterns that children with Down syndrome are prone to develop. The opportunity is for parents to use the arena of gross motor development to begin to understand how their child learns.

Ideally, physiotherapy services should be started at 1-2 months of age in this population. Children with Down syndrome are seen weekly or every 2 weeks until they are able to walk, and then monthly for the first 4-6 months of walking to refine their walking pattern. Physiotherapy typically ends when the child is able to walk with an efficient pattern, run, walk up and down stairs, jump, and ride a tricycle" (Patricia Winders 2007).