Abstract

Background. Children with Down Syndrome operated for organ defects in the first months of life and undergoing early regular physiotherapy develop better than children who are so treated at an older age. This paper presents the psychomotor development and outcomes of comprehensive rehabilitation during the first two years of life of a boy with Down syndrome and a congential heart defect. Case description. The boy had Down syndrome and a congenital heart anomaly in the form ventricular and atrial septal defect. The boy underwent regular rehabilitation from the second month of life. Initially, the Vojta method was used, followed by pulmonary rehabilitation in the perioperative period, and the NDT-Bobath, Sherborne, and sensory integration methods were introduced in the tenth month of life. Gross motor skills (head lifting, turning, sitting, pulling oneself to stand up, crawling on all fours, walking with assistance and walking unassisted, running), social skills, self-sufficiency (smilling at parents, eating solids, drinking from a cup, following objects with the eyes, grasping a hanging rattle) and communication skills were traced until the 27th month of life. Conclusions. Children with Down syndrome who undergo regular rehabilitation commenced in the first months of life and receive proper care achieve better psychomotor developmental outcomes owing to the developmental plasticity, memory plasticity and regeneration possibilities of humen nervous tissue.

Key words:

child physiotherapy, psychomotor development, Down syndrome