Stimulating motors skills on the Crawliskate
Type de matériel :
71
In this article, we present the steps and tests we implemented upstream to assess the potential risks of a new early intervention aimed at stimulating the motor skills of very premature infants by training them to crawl on a mini skateboard as soon as they leave the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Method: This study was performed on a pilot population of forty-four very premature infants who had no major brain damage but were nevertheless at risk of developing motor problems. The subjects were divided into three groups: a “Crawli” group trained on a mini skateboard, the “Crawliskate”; a mat group trained in the prone position on a mat; and a control group, which received no special training. The training sessions were performed for five minutes a day for eight consecutive weeks at home by professionals. Possible deleterious effects of Crawli training were monitored during and after training. Follow-up continued until the subjects reached twelve months (corrected age, obtained using the Amiel-Tison neurodevelopmental assessment at term [ATNAT] scale). Results: Reports from professionals during training sessions showed that the infants and their parents responded well to the training. All premature infants in the Crawli group were able to propel themselves with quadrupedal movements on the Crawliskate without any subsequent deleterious effects during their first year of life. In contrast, infants positioned prone directly on the mat without the Crawliskate were unable to move and developed an increase in the passive tone of their axial muscles, resulting in temporary hyperextension, at two months corrected age. Crawliskate training would therefore appear to be the most appropriate way to begin an intervention aimed at stimulating the motor/locomotor development of very premature infants as soon as they leave the NICU, providing the maximum window of opportunity for developing the plasticity of their neuromotor structures.
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