Body self-perception in age school children with Down Syndrome

Abstract

Introduction: The notion of body or body perception is of great importance in the development of motor skills and functionality. In atypical development situations, as in the case of Down syndrome (DS) there is a delay in the development and motor skills are compromised, which possibly is reflected in the quality of body self-perception in children with DS. Objective: To assess the characteristics of body self-perception in school age children with DS. Methods: This is an exploratory and descriptive study involving 10 children aged between seven and nine years. To assess body perception, it was used the Body Notion factor from the Psychomotor Battery (BPM). Data analysis was performed qualitatively and quantitatively according to the criteria established by the instruments and the researchers. Results: The participants' performance regarding the notion of body was not related to their age. The right and left discrimination capability was the body notion sub-factor with the worst performance and the self-image was the sub-factor with the best performance. The drawings of the human figure were split into two categories: unidentifiable (Class A, n = 8) and recognizable (Class B, n = 2). Conclusion: It is suggested that the self-perception of children with Down Syndrome analyzed in this study has a strong relationship with the body and environmental stimuli together with psychomotor and cognitive development, which, however, does not coincide with their chronological age.