Your student, Michael, is a 16-year-old boy with Down syndrome. You have been seeing him for occupational therapy (OT) since he was 3 years old. His mother would like him to be independent with dressing in the morning. But she says she still has to help him zip his coat and get his shoes on. Sometimes she even has to help him snap his jeans after using the bathroom. What do you tell her?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Michael still has a hard time with fine motor skills, even after working on them. Those tasks may need to be adapted for him to be independent. People with Down syndrome have impairments in fine motor prehension patterns that impact their ability to manipulate small objects. Since this student is 16 years old and has not learned these tasks after years of therapy, it is likely that his fine motor skills are not adequate to perform these tasks without adaptations.

Your Student, Michael, Is a 16-Year-Old Boy with Down Syndrome