What do treadmills have to do with helping your baby with Down syndrome to walk?An excellent question— treadmills have a lot to do with helping your baby with Down syndrome to walk, it turns out. Not only to walk, but to walk sooner. (check out the video below!) A study at the University of Michigan shows that training your baby with DS on a treadmill for eight minutes a day, five days a week leads to walking 4-5 months earlier. Professor Dale Ulrich is the lead investigator of the study. "The key is if we can get them to walk earlier and better then they can explore their environment earlier and when you start to explore, you learn about the world around you," Ulrich says. "Walking is a critical factor in development in every other domain." Hypotonia (low muscle tone) is to blame here. Because babies with Down syndrome commonly have some level of hypotonia, it becomes more difficult for them to use their muscles as a typical person would. Some kids are mildly affected, some are more affected in their upper or lower body, and some struggle with crawling and walking. This low muscle tone causes delays in rolling over, sitting up, standing, and walking. It can cause problems in eating and speech development. Solid foods can be a problem. This study was done using specialized pediatric treadmills, but they can be costly. Parents can use equipment already in the home that slows to a speed of ˝ mile per hour. In this video, the parent sits on a stool and holds the baby facing them. (At home the baby will have to face away from the parent.) Their feet touch the slow-moving belt just enough to stimulate a walking movement. At first, it won’t be true walking—the parent will be supporting the child’s weight. Gradually over a period of months, parents provide less and less support, until finally the child needs only hand-holding support.
Committing to an eight-minute-a-day routine may seem like a lot of work. Why do it? Because the sooner your child can walk, the better for his/her development. Walking is huge in terms of exploring their surroundings and learning development. Why wouldn’t you do what it takes to help your child succeed?
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