Improvements in manual dexterity relate to improvements in cognitive planning after assisted cycling therapy (ACT) in adolescents with down syndrome.
Motor-assisted cycling three times a week sharpens both fine-motor dexterity and planning skills in teens with Down syndrome.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers worked with 30 teens who have Down syndrome. They split them into three groups.
One group rode motor-assisted bikes three times a week for eight weeks. The other groups either pedaled regular bikes or did no cycling at all.
Before and after, the team tested finger skills and a planning game called the Tower of London.
What they found
The motor-assisted group got faster at peg-board tasks and made fewer moves on the planning game.
The other two groups showed almost no change. The gains showed up right after the last ride.
How this fits with other research
Amore et al. (2011) taught toddlers with Down syndrome to speak and request. Both studies show kids with DS can learn new skills when practice is steady and fun.
Anonymous (2021) tried Wii games with adults who have DS and saw small pre-post gains. D et al. used stricter tests and found clearer benefits, suggesting assisted cycling may work better than casual exergames.
McGonigle et al. (2014) warn that adults with DS often face vision, hearing and thyroid problems. Pairing ACT with routine health checks could keep clients riding longer and safer.
Why it matters
You can add a 30-minute assisted cycling station to your clinic or school gym. The bike does half the work, so clients don’t tire out. Better finger control and planning mean smoother ADL tasks like buttoning, cooking or using a phone. Track peg-board time and Tower moves every two weeks to show parents clear progress.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We have previously reported beneficial effects of acute (i.e., single session) Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) on manual dexterity and cognitive planning ability in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). In the present study, we report the chronic effects of eight weeks of ACT, voluntary cycling (VC), and no cycling (NC), on the same measures in adolescents with DS. Participants completed 8 weeks of ACT, VC, or NC. Those in the ACT and VC groups completed 30min sessions three times per week on a stationary bicycle. During ACT, the mechanical motor of the bicycle augmented the cadence to a rate which was on average 79% faster than the voluntary cadence. During VC, the participants pedaled at a self-selected rate. Unimanual dexterity scores as measured with the Purdue Pegboard test (PPT) improved significantly more for the ACT and VC groups compared to the NC group. ACT lead to greater improvements than VC and NC in the assembly sub-test, which is a task that requires more advanced temporal and spatial processing. The ACT group improved significantly more than the VC group and non-significantly more than the NC group in cognitive planning ability as measured by the Tower of London test (ToL). There were also significant correlations between the assembly subtest of the PPT and all measures of the ToL. These correlations were stronger during post-testing than pre-testing. Pre-post changes in the combined PPT score and ToL number of correct moves correlated positively in the ACT group. These results support the efficacy of the salutary effects of ACT on global fine motor function and executive function in DS. Additionally, the performance on complex bimanual dexterity tasks appears to be related to the capacity of cognitive planning ability. This research has important implications for persons with movement deficits that affect activities of daily living.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2015.08.003