Animal Fun Program and Kinesthetic Development in Down Syndrome

Effects of Animal Fun Program on Kinesthesia in Children With Down Syndrome

The purpose of the study is that Animal-fun activities capture children's attention, making them a powerful tool for enhancing kinesthetic awareness and gross motor skills. Although play-based programs like Animal Fun boost motor development, no research has yet examined if adding animal interaction can specifically improve proprioception in children with Down syndrome. There is no difference in the effects of animal fun program on kinesthesia in children with Down syndrome.There is a difference in the effects of animal fun program on kinesthesia in Children with Down syndrome.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Kinesthetic Illusion
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Animal fun program

Detailed Description

Down syndrome (DS), resulting from a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21 in approximately 1 in 650-1,000 live births, represents the most frequent genetic origin of intellectual disability and is often accompanied by delayed attainment of motor developmental milestones. Insufficient motor coordination and proprioceptive awareness can significantly limit participation in physical activities. Proprioceptive input mediated by muscle spindles, joint and skin receptors, and Golgi tendon organs underlies kinesthesia, our sensory perception of movement and spatial orientation. The Animal Fun program, a structured, inclusive early intervention originally designed for typically developing children, has demonstrated effectiveness in improving gross and fine motor skills, balance, manual dexterity, and socio-emotional development.The study design will be Quasi Experimental Study. This study will recruit 26 children of Down Syndrome to evaluate a modified Animal Fun program on Kinesthesia in children with down syndrome. Animal fun program will be provided for 8 weeks and in one week four sessions will be conducted. The study will be completed in 10 months after the approval of synopsis. Data will be collected from step up rehabilitation center Lahore. Participants fulfilling the eligibility criteria will be asked to assign the consent form before entering into study. Kinesthesia effect will be assessed by joint position sense test. A goniometer measures joint angles and accuracy is calculated by comparing target and reproduced angles. The synopsis will presented to the Research Ethical Committee of Riphah International University, Lahore for ethical approval to conduct this study. Data will be analyzed through SPSS version 26.0.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 26
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Muhammad Asif Javed, MS-PT; Phone Number: 923224209422; Email: a.javed@riphah.edu.pk
• Study Contact Backup: Name: IMRAN AMJAD, PHD; Phone Number: 92332243390125; Email: imranamjad@riphah.edu.pk

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Punjab Province
    • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000
      • Recruiting
      • Step up Rehabilitation centre
      • Contact: IMRAN AMJAD, PhD; Phone Number: 9233224390125; Email: imran.amjad@riphah.edu.pk
      • Contact: Muhammad Asif Javed, PhD; Phone Number: 923224209422; Email: a.javed@riphah.edu.pk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children aged 6 to 9 years
• Diagnosed with Down's Syndrome
• Both male and female will be included
• Parental/Guardian Consent or Written informed consent must be obtained from parents or legal guardians.
• Regular Attendance or Availability and willingness to participate in all scheduled sessions of the Animal Fun Program.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of Neurological and Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Visual or Hearing Impairments
• Behavioral or Psychiatric Conditions
• Recent Orthopedic or Neurosurgical Interventions
• Irregular Attendance Risk

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Animal fun program; The experimental group will receive animal fun program, the program includes 30 minutes each day for 4 days/ week, usually with an outdoor session of 15 minutes and an indoor session of 15 minutes per day.

Other: Animal fun program; The Animal Fun program, consists of the following modules: Module 1: Body Management (Static balance, Dynamic balance, climbing) Module 2: Locomotion (Walking, Jumping, Hopping, Skipping) Module 3: Object Control (Throwing, Catching, Kicking) Module 4: Body Sequencing (Trunk, Limbs) Module 5: Body and Kinesthetic Management: Trunk and Upper Limb (Eye hand coordination, Visual kinesthetic) Module 6: Fine Motor Planning Module 7: Tool Control (Pre-scissor/scissor skills, Paint brush use, Drawing/pre-writing skills). Module 8: Hand Skills (Individual finger strength, Grip strength, Pincer grip) Module 9: Social/Emotional Development (Laughter, Identifying and labelling feelings, Breathing, Relaxation).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Joint position sense test	Joint Position Sense (JPS) testing was conducted using a standardized protocol and a consistent measurement tool, specifically a goniometer, to assess the accuracy of joint angle reproduction. The difference between the reference angle and the reproduced angle was calculated to determine the Joint position sense test (JPS) error, with greater differences indicating larger deficits. A score of zero was assigned if the participant exactly reproduced the reference angle. Although directionality (over- or underestimation) was noted, only the absolute values of angle differences were used for final analysis.	Baseline, 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Riphah International University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Sadia Khan, MS-PT, Riphah International University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chicoine B, Rivelli A, Fitzpatrick V, Chicoine L, Jia G, Rzhetsky A. Prevalence of Common Disease Conditions in a Large Cohort of Individuals With Down Syndrome in the United States. J Patient Cent Res Rev. 2021 Apr 19;8(2):86-97. doi: 10.17294/2330-0698.1824. eCollection 2021 Spring.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 5, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 12, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Down syndrome; Proprioception; Kinesthesia; Animal fun program
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Genetic Diseases, Inborn; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Congenital Abnormalities; Abnormalities, Multiple; Intellectual Disability; Chromosome Disorders; Perceptual Disorders; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Down Syndrome; Illusions
• Other Study ID Numbers: Riphah/G-III/RCR&AHS/B45-Sadia

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No