To help a baby with Down Syndrome sit and walk faster, you should take the child to do physical therapy from the third or fourth month of life until around 5 years of age. The sessions are usually held 2 or 3 times a week and in them are performed various exercises disguised as games that aim to stimulate the child early so that he can hold the head, roll, sit, stand and walk faster.
The child with Down syndrome who undergoes physical therapy usually starts walking at around 2 years of age, while the child who does not do physical therapy can start walking only after 4 years of age. This demonstrates the benefits that physical therapy has for the motor development of these children.
Benefits of physiotherapy in Down Syndrome
Physiotherapy includes therapy on the ground and psychomotor stimulation, where objects such as mirrors, balls, foams, tatami, circuits and various educational toys that stimulate the senses are used. Its main benefits are:
- Fight hypotonia, which is when the child has reduced muscle strength, and is always very soft;
- Encourage motor development and help children learn to hold their heads, sit, roll, stand and walk;
- Develop or improve balance in different postures, such as sitting and standing, so that he does not stagger when he tries to stand or needs to walk with his eyes closed, for example;
- Treat scoliosis, preventing the spine from being badly damaged and hindering changes in posture.
The Bobath technique is also a good way to stimulate the development of children with Down Syndrome and consist of exercises performed on the floor or with the ball, which work on both sides of the body and the contralateral in order to improve the development of the nervous system. of child.
The use of bandages that are a kind of colored tape that is applied to the skin is also a resource that can be used to facilitate the learning of tasks such as being able to sit alone, for example. In this case, the adhesive tape can be applied crosswise on the child's belly so that he / she has more firmness and is able to lift the trunk off the floor, since to perform this movement, good control of the abdominal muscles is necessary, which are usually very weak in case Down syndrome.
Exercises help the baby to develop
The physiotherapeutic treatment in Down Syndrome must be individualized because each child needs full attention during the activities, according to their motor skills and needs, but some objectives and examples of exercises are:
- Place the baby on your lap and attract your attention with a mirror or toy that emits sounds, so that he can hold his head when sitting;
- Place the baby on his stomach and attract his attention, calling him by name so he can look up;
- Place the baby on his back with a toy that he likes very much by his side so that he can turn to pick it up;
- Place the baby on a hammock or on a swing, moving it slowly from side to side, which helps to calm and organize the labyrinth in the brain;
- Sit on the sofa and leave the baby on the floor and then attract his attention so that he wants to get up, supporting his body weight on a sofa, which strengthens his legs so he can walk.
Watch the following video and learn how to stimulate the development of children with Down Syndrome:
Riding Therapy for Down's Syndrome
In addition to this type of physical therapy on the ground, there is also physical therapy with horses, which is called hippotherapy. In it, riding itself helps to improve the balance of children.
Usually this type of treatment starts between 2 and 3 years of age with sessions once a week, but some exercises that can be indicated are:
- Ride with eyes closed;
- Remove one foot from the stirrup;
- Hold the horse's neck, hugging it while riding;
- Release the feet of the 2 stirrups at the same time;
- Do arm exercises while riding, or
- Horseback riding or crouching.
It is proven that children who do both hippotherapy, as well as physical therapy on the ground, have better postural adjustments and have adaptive reactions so as not to fall faster, having greater control of movements and being able to improve their body posture faster.
See which exercises can help your child speak faster.
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