# Role of early motor experience in infants with Down syndrome

> **NIH NIH R21** · GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $429,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic condition and causes significant development delays and
weaknesses in the motor, cognitive, and language domains. It is important to study these co-occurring
developmental challenges and develop effective intervention strategies for positive learning outcomes in multiple
domains simultaneously. It was found that motor development is closely associated with cognitive and language
development in typically developing infants and advances in motor development have developmental cascade
effects on other domains. However, this interrelation has not been studied in infants with DS. Our prior work has
shown that gross motor experience through body-weight-supported treadmill stepping leads to an earlier onset
of walking and improves subsequent locomotor ability in infants with DS. However, we do not yet know the extent
to which this motor experience advances cognitive and language development in infants with DS. Research also
suggests that grasping, a major fine motor skill emerging in infancy, provides the needed scaffolding for
subsequent gesture and speech production. However, research on grasping and its potential effects on other
domains in infants with DS remains scarce. The objectives of this proposal are to understand: the role of (a)
specific gross motor experience and (b) specific fine motor experience on the motor, cognitive and language
development of infants with DS. Our central hypothesis is that motor (both gross and fine) experience will help
advance cognitive and language development in infants with DS. We will recruit 45 infants with DS from the
greater Atlanta area and beyond. There will be three groups: (a) gross motor (GM) group (n=15), entering the
study at about 10 months of age; (b) gross motor plus fine motor (GM+FM) group (n=15), entering the study at
about 10 months; and (c) control group (n=15), entering the study at about 20 months. Aim 1: Determine the
effects of gross motor experience on cognitive and language development in infants with DS, comparing the GM
and control groups. Only the GM group will receive a home-based, parent-guided practice of treadmill stepping
from 10 months of age (T1) until onset of walking. We hypothesize that the GM group will show higher Bayley
scores and better gesture and word production at termination of the GM intervention (T3) and five months
thereafter (T4) than the control group. Aim 2: Determine the effects of fine motor experience on cognitive and
language development in infants with DS who receive the GM intervention, particularly in gesture and word
production, comparing the GM and GM+FM groups. Only the GM+FM group will receive fine motor experience
in practice of grasping using “sticky mittens” from 10 months of age for about five months. We hypothesize that
the GM+FM group will show further improvements in motor, cognitive and language domains, particularly in
gesture and word production, than the GM group at termination o...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10284690
- **Project number:** 1R21HD105879-01
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Seyda Ozcaliskan
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $429,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-08 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10284690

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10284690, Role of early motor experience in infants with Down syndrome (1R21HD105879-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10284690. Licensed CC0.

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