Jornal de novas fisioterapias

Abstrato

Reaction and Movement Time in Down syndrome Children under Different Visual Feedback Conditions

Ganeswara Rao Melam, Syamala Buragadda, Adel Alhusaini and Pavitra Dhamija

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) in Down syndrome children under two different visual feedback conditions.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in which 30 mild to moderate Down syndrome children were allocated randomly into two groups. The full visual feedback group comprised 15 participants with an average age of 12(± 1.4) years, and the no visual feedback group comprised 15 participants with an average age of 12(± 1.7) years. All the participants repeated the same activity 20 times with the order of conditions randomized across individuals.

Results: RT and MT were analyzed while participants performed the movement sequence. After 20 trials, both groups showed significant differences in their MT but no significant differences in RT. Intergroup analysis also showed that there was no statistically significant difference in either RT or MT.

Conclusion: Down syndrome children exhibited longer movement and RTs than normal children regardless of vision condition. Knowledge of their performance at regular intervals and encouragement helped to improve their MT. Down syndrome children were less affected by the elimination of visual feedback and showed no significant variation in RTs.