This case study explores the impact of an intensive therapy model on gross motor development in a young child with Down syndrome, with a specific focus on outcomes from Down Syndrome physical therapy treatment using innovative techniques like the NeuroSuit and Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI).
The purpose of this case study was to investigate changes in gross motor function using the GMFM-88 in a child with Down syndrome after a 3-week intensive program of 3 hours, day for 5 days per week with the NeuroSuit.
A 3 year, 7-month-old male with Down syndrome participated in a combination of physical and occupational therapy services for a total of 3 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 3 weeks. His individualized treatment plan included physical and occupational therapy with use of modalities and techniques, including the NeuroSuit and Dynamic Movement Intervention exercises.
The subject demonstrated taking 4 steps independently during the 3-week period, however, was unable to demonstrate on the final evaluation but showed improvement in walking with one handheld assist. Per therapist report, the subject demonstrated a weekly increase in ability to stand independently, starting with 2-3 seconds during the second week, 7-10 seconds during the third week, and 27 seconds on his last day. The patient made significant improvements in his strength, balance, posture, and endurance, as evidenced by a 12.4% increase in his GMFM-88 score from 48.39% to 60.79%.
For children in the same age range and same GMFM level (level 2), the mean total score was 61.2% with a standard deviation (SD) of 14.9. Therefore, our subject fell within 1 SD of the mean before the interventions.
The mean change after 6-months of traditional therapy is a value of 5.31% with a SD of 6.06. The subject’s change in their total score was 12.4%. Therefore, the subject was 2 SD above the mean after 3-week of intensive therapy.
