title: Influence of additional weight on the frequency of kicks in infants with Down syndrome and infants with typical development.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infants with Down syndrome present with organic and neurological changes that may lead to a delay in the acquisition of motor skills such as kicking, a fundamental skill that is a precursor of gait and is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Therefore, this movement should be taken into account in early physical therapy interventions in infants.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To analyze and to compare the effect of additional weight on the frequency of kicks in infants with Down syndrome and infants with typical development at 3 and 4 months of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five infants with Down syndrome and five with typical development at 3 and 4 months of age were filmed. The experiment was divided into four experimental conditions lasting 1 minute each: training, baseline, weight (addition of ankle weight with 1/3 the weight of the lower limb), and post-weight.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significant differences between groups for all variables (p<0.05), with lower frequencies observed for infants with Down syndrome in all variables. There were significant differences between the experimental conditions baseline and post-weight (p<0.001) for both groups in the frequency of contact and success, with a higher frequency in the post-weight condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The weight acted as an important stimulus for both groups, directing the kicks toward the target and improving the infants' performance in the task through repetition, however, the infants with Down syndrome had lower frequencies of kicks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriela L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thaís B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Bueno
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eloisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tudella
authors.affiliation: School of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jadiane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dionisio
mesh_terms: D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007866:Leg / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D014891:Weight Lifting