Enabling 2-Wheeled Cycling for Youth With Down Syndrome

Purpose: To study the effectiveness of cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance (CO-OP) to teach motor skills to youth with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Six youth aged 12 to 19 years participated in this study. A multiple baseline design was employed to evaluate distance and time cycled, and a pre-post-follow-up design was used to evaluate the effect on cycling skills mastered, cycling performance, and parent satisfaction. Results: At follow-up, 5 of the 6 youth rode their 2-wheeled bicycles over 100 m in their communities (range, 103-1400 m) and demonstrated improved cycling skills and parent satisfaction. Conclusions: The skills acquired by youth with Down syndrome using a CO-OP approach exceeded what has been reported in the literature. CO-OP offers a promising alternative to existing approaches for teaching 2-wheeled cycling to youth with Down syndrome.