The Effect of Functional Training on Reaching to Objects with Different Shapes and Sizes in a 6-Year-Old Girl with Down Syndrome

Functional training is becoming a more practical method to improve muscular fitness in people with mental disability. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of functional training on the speed of wrist and total movement time of reaching to objects with different shapes (cylinder, cube, and pyramid) and different sizes (small, medium, and large) in a six-years old girl with Down Syndrome.
Material and The current study is a single subject experimental study. One girl with down syndrome with no physical or motor disorder was introduced by Down Syndrome Association (age: six years old) participated in the study. The participant was selected based on availablity sampling. The pretest and posttest of reaching to objects with different shapes and sizes were recorded using motion analysis device. The participant took part in 24 sessions of functional training of eye-hand coordination program, each lasting about 60 minutes (five days a week). Each session of training consisted of three 15-minute parts with five-minute breaks.
The mean of the movement time of reaching to medium cylinder was lower (MT=1200.17) and the effect size (D= 0.89) was higher than those of the other shapes and sizes. The mean of the velocity of reaching to medium cylinder was higher (V=596.83) and the effect size (D= 0.94) was higher than those of other shapes and sizes. The mean of movement time and velocity in the posttest showed that the subject had better performance compared with pretest performance.
The results revealed that the functional training decreased movement time and increased the speed of reaching. These findings support previous results stating that task-oriented training, with respect to the principle of specificity of training, promotes movement patterns in individuals with Down Syndrome.