A Training Program to Develop Specific Manual Dexterity Skills of Down’s Syndrome Children

Abstract

This study was designed to determine if the fine motor skills of three young Down’s Syndrome children functioning below average in manual dexterity skills could be improved through a systematic training program. The selected subjects were met individually for thirty minutes a day, four days per week (Monday through Thursday), for a period of seven weeks. Each child was trained by repeated practice on ten specific tasks involving arm, hand, and finger manipulation. Subjective data recorded during each session by the investigator indicated that, generally, all three subjects appeared to improve on the manual dexterity tasks. These results were supported by gains generally found in the Purdue Pegboard, the Crawford Small Parts Dexterity Test, and the Stromberg Dexterity Test which were administered prior to and at the completion of training. However, limitations of the study prohibit the conclusion that improvement was due to the systematic training program employed in the study.