Down's Syndrome

[monak84]

How can a physiotherapist help a down's syndrome patient?
(since the defect is congenital..due to chromosomal changes..)

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[Fonzie]

The role of Physiotherapy in Down's syndrome is mainly education for the parents. Down's patients are often hypermobile and present with widespread low tone. By educating parents at an early age they are able to adapt daily activities such as playing to benefit the child more by strengthening muscles and helping to increase tone with increasing coordination and. As the child gets older, muscle imbalance may cause problems executing gross and fine motor tasks which can be adressed using exercises etc. It is important to realise that physiotherapy will need to be combined with other members from different health professions so a multi disciplinary approach is necessary. The combined approach will not "cure" the disorder but will enable to patient to be as able as possible. This is only a general overview as I'm not specialised in paeds or neuro. Maybe someone more experienced in the area may like to expand more.

[monak84]

Thanks a lot for the information..

[dfadc2b]

How old is the Down's patient? There is a local program here in the U.S. that initiates therapy (from PT, OT, and Speech) at 6 months old called "Early Intervention" which is headed by the federal program Center For The Developmentally Disabled (CFDD). They say that it is vital that Down's children begin therapy as early as possible. The earlier the intervention the more successful the outcome. PT is crucial because as the previous post said, Down's children have low muscle tone and need help with strengthening, balance, etc. early on. Check with your CFDD for more info.
Hope this helps, let me know what you find out.
DF

[gillarnett]

I work in an adult learning disabilities team which is made up of many professionals all working together. I work with adults with Down's Syndrome to improve muscle balance and function as well as balance and co-ordination. We also risk assess when people are diagnosed with added dementia and look at their physical environment to reduce the risk of injury to themselves or others.

Peple with DS are more likely to be overweight and we assist the m to find and participate in activities and provide limited advice on healthy eating.

We are in a good position to be observant in any changes which may lead us to suspect heart problems or neck problems associated with the condition and raise the subject with relevant medical practitioners.