The effectiveness of family-centered sensory motor empowerment program on intellectual capacity of students with Down syndrome

Introduction: The limitations and challenges faced by children with Down syndrome are primarily attributed to their cognitive abilities. A comprehensive review of the available evidence indicates that timely family-centered interventions are the most effective approach to addressing these issues. Aim: The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of a family-centered sensory motor empowerment program on the intellectual capacity of students diagnosed with Down syndrome. Method: The research method employed in this study was semi-experimental, utilizing a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The population of interest was all students diagnosed with Down syndrome in Kashan city during the 2021-2022 academic year. A convenience sampling method was used to select 30 participants, aged between 8 and 12 years, who were assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group underwent an intervention consisting of 11 weekly sessions, with each session lasting for 2 hours. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (2003) was used as the primary assessment tool. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 and MANCOVA was employed as the statistical analysis technique. Results: Based on the results, the family-centered sensory motor empowerment program demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the total intellectual capacity score (P<0.01), as well as in subscales of verbal comprehension (P<0.03), working memory (P<0.01), and processing speed (P<0.01). However, the program had no significant impact on the perceptual reasoning subscale (P>0.30). Conclusion: In conclusion, the findings suggest that the family-centered sensory motor empowerment program can enhance the intellectual capacity of children with Down syndrome by strengthening their sensory and motor abilities, as well as improving their relationships with family members. Therefore, this intervention can be recommended as a viable approach to increasing the intellectual capacity in this population.