Maze computer performance in Down syndrome

Introduction: These changes are the main causes of defi cits in perceptual-motor skills responsible for motor skill acquisition and performance of functional activities. AIMS: The current study aimed at verifying the quantitative performance of people with DS in undertaking a computer task to compare the performances of typical development (TD). Method: 60 subjects participated in the study, 30 with Down’s syndrome and 30 with typical development, matched by sex. Individuals were aged from 10–36. The groups were divided into three subgroups by age: Group 1 (G1) 10–18; Group 2 (G2) 18–25; Group 3 (G3) 25–36. They performed a computer maze task. During the acquisition phase all groups attempted the maze 30 times, and then after 5 minutes they performed 5 repetitions of Maze 1 for the retention phase. Finally, for the transfer phase, they performed fi ve repetitions in Maze 2. The dependent variables were submitted to a group, age group, gender and block ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor. Results: In acquisition phase there was a significant decrease in movement time (MT) between the fi rst and last acquisition block, but only for the DS-group. In retention, there was a significant effect of Group, and an interaction between Block and Group, indicating that MTs increased from retention to transfer, but only for the DS-group. Conclusion: It was found that participants with DS improved performance during acquisition and retention, but they had diffi culty in performing the transfer of the computational task for a similar situation. The age and gender were not signifi cant in any of the stages of the study.Introduction: These changes are the main causes of defi cits in perceptual-motor skills responsible for motor skill acquisition and performance of functional activities. AIMS: The current study aimed at verifying the quantitative performance of people with DS in undertaking a computer task to compare the performances of typical development (TD). Method: 60 subjects participated in the study, 30 with Down’s syndrome and 30 with typical development, matched by sex. Individuals were aged from 10–36. The groups were divided into three subgroups by age: Group 1 (G1) 10–18; Group 2 (G2) 18–25; Group 3 (G3) 25–36. They performed a computer maze task. During the acquisition phase all groups attempted the maze 30 times, and then after 5 minutes they performed 5 repetitions of Maze 1 for the retention phase. Finally, for the transfer phase, they performed fi ve repetitions in Maze 2. The dependent variables were submitted to a group, age group, gender and block ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor. Results: In acquisition phase there was a significant decrease in movement time (MT) between the fi rst and last acquisition block, but only for the DS-group. In retention, there was a significant effect of Group, and an interaction between Block and Group, indicating that MTs increased from retention to transfer, but only for the DS-group. Conclusion: It was found that participants with DS improved performance during acquisition and retention, but they had diffi culty in performing the transfer of the computational task for a similar situation. The age and gender were not signifi cant in any of the stages of the study

Motor Learning and Virtual Reality in Down Syndrome; a Literature Review

 Down syndrome (DS) is caused by trisomy of human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) and results in a large number of phenotypes including learning difficulties, cardiac defects and distinguishing facial features. The purpose of this study was to analyse research findings about “motor learning†and “virtual reality†in patients with DS. Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science and BVS. Using key words, we searched for articles that included Down syndrome, virtual reality, and motor learning. Only studies on humans were eligible. The search  identified seven relevant papers. Most studies showed that individuals with Down syndrome are able to learn new tasks, and that improvements can be enhanced via the use of virtual reality. We conclude that individuals with Down syndrome respond positively and effectively, with improvements in sensory motor control, when stimulated with tasks that are complementary to conventional therapy, including therapy involving virtual reality

Evaluation of speed-accuracy trade-off in a computer task to identify motor difficulties in individuals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Individuals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) present with progressive loss of motor function which can impair both control of speed and accuracy of movement. Aim: to evaluate movement time during a task at various levels of difficulty and to verify whether the level of difficulty affects the speed and/ or accuracy during the task. Methods: the DMD group comprised of 17 individuals age matched with 17 individuals with typical development (TD group). The task evaluates the relationship between speed and accuracy, consisting of the execution of manual movements (using the mouse of the computer) aimed at a target at three different levels of difficulty (ID). Results: A MANOVA demonstrated statistically significant differences in dispersion data and intercept values between the groups with greater movement time in the DMD group. An ANOVA indicated differences between groups for ID, except for when there was a higher accuracy demand (higher ID). In the other IDs that required lower accuracy demand, individuals in the DMD group had significantly longer movement time when compared to the TD group. Conclusion: These results show that the TD and DMD did not differ in the higher ID, therefore it can be concluded that for those with DMD, motor performance is more affected by speed than accuracy of movement. What this paper adds? It is known that individuals with DMD have considerable motor deficits, however this paper shows that when the task involves higher accuracy compared with speed, people with DMD have performance similar to typically developed peers. This insight is a novel finding and can inform the rehabilitation team, to focus on training of speed, whilst maintaining accuracy for better execution of daily life tasks

Functional capacity and assistance from the caregiver during daily activities in brazilian children with cerebral palsy

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) presents changes in posture and movement as a core characteristic, which requires multiprofessional clinical treatments during children’s habilitation or rehabilitation. Besides clinical treatment, it is fundamental that professionals use evaluation systems to quantify the difficulties presented to the individual and their families in their daily lives. We aimed to investigate the functional capacity of individuals with CP and the amount of assistance required by the caregiver in day-to-day activities. Methods: Twenty patients with CP, six-year-old on average, were evaluated. The Pediatric Evaluation Inventory of Incapacities was used (PEDI - Pediatric Evaluation Disability Inventory), a system adapted for Brazil that evaluates child's dysfunction in three 3 dimensions: self-care, mobility and social function. To compare the three areas, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. Results: We found the following results regarding the functional capacity of children: self-care, 27.4%, ±17.5; mobility, 25.8%, ±33.3 and social function, 36.3%, ±27.7. The results of the demand of aid from the caregiver according to each dimension were: self-care, 9.7%, ±19.9; mobility, 14.1%, ± 20.9 and social function, 19.8%, ±26.1. Conclusion: We indicated that there was no difference between the performance of the subjects in areas of self-care, mobility and social function considering the functional skills and assistance required by the caregiver.UNES

Functional capacity and assistance from the caregiver during daily activities in Brazilian children with cerebral palsy

Abstract\ud \ud \ud \ud Background\ud \ud Cerebral Palsy (CP) presents changes in posture and movement as a core characteristic, which requires multiprofessional clinical treatments during children’s habilitation or rehabilitation. Besides clinical treatment, it is fundamental that professionals use evaluation systems to quantify the difficulties presented to the individual and their families in their daily lives. We aimed to investigate the functional capacity of individuals with CP and the amount of assistance required by the caregiver in day-to-day activities.\ud \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud Twenty patients with CP, six-year-old on average, were evaluated. The Pediatric Evaluation Inventory of Incapacities was used (PEDI - Pediatric Evaluation Disability Inventory), a system adapted for Brazil that evaluates child's dysfunction in three 3 dimensions: self-care, mobility and social function. To compare the three areas, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used.\ud \ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud We found the following results regarding the functional capacity of children: self-care, 27.4%, ±17.5; mobility, 25.8%, ±33.3 and social function, 36.3%, ±27.7. The results of the demand of aid from the caregiver according to each dimension were: self-care, 9.7%, ±19.9; mobility, 14.1%, ± 20.9 and social function, 19.8%, ±26.1.\ud \ud \ud \ud Conclusion\ud \ud We indicated that there was no difference between the performance of the subjects in areas of self-care, mobility and social function considering the functional skills and assistance required by the caregiver.This manuscript received financial support from UNESP. The funding body provided financial support to make all procedures and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication

Computer task performance by subjects with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Aims: Two specific objectives were established to quantify computer task performance among people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). First, we compared simple computational task performance between subjects with DMD and age-matched typically developing (TD) subjects. Second, we examined correlations between the ability of subjects with DMD to learn the computational task and their motor functionality, age, and initial task performance. Method: The study included 84 individuals (42 with DMD, mean age of 18 +/- 5.5 years, and 42 age-matched controls). They executed a computer maze task all participants performed the acquisition (20 attempts) and retention (five attempts) phases, repeating the same maze. A different maze was used to verify transfer performance (five attempts). The Motor Function Measure Scale was applied, and the results were compared with maze task performance. Results: In the acquisition phase, a significant decrease was found in movement time (MT) between the first and last acquisition block, but only for the DMD group. For the DMD group, MT during transfer was shorter than during the first acquisition block, indicating improvement from the first acquisition block to transfer. In addition, the TD group showed shorter MT than the DMD group across the study. Conclusion: DMD participants improved their performance after practicing a computational task however, the difference in MT was present in all attempts among DMD and control subjects. Computational task improvement was positively influenced by the initial performance of individuals with DMD. In turn, the initial performance was influenced by their distal functionality but not their age or overall functionality.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)School of Medicine of ABC, Santo Andre, BrazilDepartment of Medicine, Paulista School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilCenter for Neurosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilPost-graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilSchool of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Medicine, Paulista School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2012/16970-6Web of Scienc

O Protagonismo Infantojuvenil nos Processos Educomunicativos

Neste volume “O protagonismo infantojuvenil nos processos educomunicativos”, reunimos 53 artigos que transitam sobre a temática do protagonismo infantojuvenil em diversas experiências e processos educomunicativos e para facilitar sua leitura e busca por temas de seu interesse, eles estão organizados em 8 capítulos que abordam a educomunicação a partir do fazer das crianças e da apropriação da produção midiática. Expressão artística, rádio, vídeo, jornalismo, cultura digital, redes sociais entre outros são os temas abordados pelos autores destes trabalhos. convidamos o leitor a mergulhar nesta jornada educomunicativa, vivendo e revivendo junto conosco essas experiências vividas por outros, refletindo em cada texto sobre como estamos, como evoluímos e como seguimos os passos daqueles que com sua ousadia, amor e luta elaboraram os fundamentos da educomunicação