Postural control in children, teenagers and adults with Down syndrome.
People with Down syndrome show faster side-to-side sway that begins in childhood, but dance or strength training can trim it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rigoldi et al. (2011) watched quiet standing in kids, teens and adults with Down syndrome.
They used a force plate to track how much the body wobbled side-to-side.
The same test was given to people without Down syndrome for comparison.
What they found
All Down-syndrome groups swayed faster in the side-to-side direction than controls.
The fast, short corrections showed up even in young children.
The pattern did not get worse with age; it was already there.
How this fits with other research
Perry et al. (2024) repeated the quiet-standing test with a larger adult sample and added adults who dance. Their data confirm the fast-sway finding, but show dance training can shrink the deficit almost to typical levels.
Wang et al. (2012) link the same sway to weaker standing, walking and strength scores in youth. If you boost those motor skills, sway drops.
Borji et al. (2023) added a verbal task while standing. The fast sway got even faster, proving balance in Down syndrome is fragile when the brain is busy.
Why it matters
You now know Down-syndrome clients use quick, short balance fixes that start in childhood and stay for life. Use this fact when you write goals: train slower, larger weight shifts and add strength work. If the client loves music or dance, lean on it—Perry et al. (2024) show it works. Finally, always test balance while the client talks or counts; dual-task data give a clearer picture of real-life risk.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a 30-second quiet stand with a metronome set to 60 beats; cue larger, slower shifts to the beat and chart total sway time.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The goal of this work was to analyze postural control in Down syndrome (DS) participants considering three different groups composed by children, teenagers and adults with DS. An analysis of the centre of pressure (COP) displacement during standing position was therefore performed for the three groups of subjects. The obtained signal of COP was then analyzed in both time and frequency domains in order to perform a thorough analysis of the signal. Even if several parameters revealed more differences between the control and DS participants in adulthood, results indicated a divergence of these two groups starting from their early age, although the limit of this study considering a cross-sectional, and not a longitudinal comparison. In particular, COP medio-lateral range of motion pointed out a decrease for both groups considered (pathological and control) in time domain analysis that could lead to the same conclusion in developing strategies, but frequency domain analysis evidenced how this result is reached by the different population: DS people showed a larger frequency of movement in ML more evidenced in adults group (Down Syndrome Adults Group vs. Adults Control Group; 0.35 ± 0.22 Hz vs. 0.17 ± 0.15 Hz; p < 0.05). Even if less pronounced also for the other parameters computed these differences emerged. Aims for the two macro-groups, DS and CG, are different: DS people focused on overcoming the lack of equilibrium caused by hypotonia and ligament laxity, while control group attempted to improve their strategy in term of efficiency, pointing out a different strategy development.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2011 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.09.007