The way to improve the motor performances in children with intellectual disability

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To clarify the way to improve the motor performances in children with intellectual disability, their performances of standing broad jump were studied in two task conditions (with / without-goal condition). In the without-goal condition subjects were instructed to jump as far as possible. In the with-goal condition, on the other hand, subjects were given a goal set 20cm away form the distance of the first trial in the without-goal condition and instructed to jump for the goal. The subjects were 30 children with intellectual disability with an average age of 16.2 years. The mean performance of the with-goal condition was 108cm, while that of the without-goal condition was 102cm. The difference between them was significant, thus, it is indicating the effectiveness of setting a goal to improve jumping performance. Among three independent variables (Chronological age, IQ, and behavior regulation score measured by three tasks of Garfield's motor impersistence test), only the behavior regulat … More ion score was found to be significantly related to the condition difference. It was more effective to demonstrate the goal when the behavior regulation abilities of children were lower. But giving the children a goal was not effective for those with Down syndrome. It was suggested from the results of the following experiment that their strategy for solving motor task would be differed. A tray-carrying task was devised in which subjects carried a tray bearing a glass filled with water which they tried not to spill. This task was given to 10 children with Down and 18 children with other types of mental retardation. The performance of children with Down syndrome was not significantly different from that of other children as measured by the amount of water spilled. Children with Down syndrome required more time and took more steps than the other children, although the time taken for each step was the same in both groups. The strategy of children with Down syndrome appears to be to make each unit of movement smaller in order to achieve a given motor task. Less