Relationship between the use of lower extremity orthoses and the developmental quotient of The Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development in children with Down syndrome

[Purpose] The Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development is an evaluation scale developed in the field of psychology. The initial aim of this study was to determine whether the quotient of the Postural-Motor area in the scale was correlated with the use of orthosis in patients with Down syndrome. The second aim was to examine a correlation among Postural-Motor, Cognitive-Adaptive, and Language-Social areas in the participants. [Participants and Methods] Patients with Down syndrome who had received a developmental examination, the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development, were retrospectively investigated. The sample included 78 participants. Data on the participants’ calendar ages ranged from 4.1 to 6.0 years, and the mean age was 4.9 at the examination. The investigated parameters were the number of participants who used an orthosis or insole and the mean developmental quotient for the Postural-Motor, Cognitive-Adaptive, and Language-Social areas. [Results] Twenty participants who completed the exam used an orthosis, and 18 of these had an insole as a first orthosis. The mean Postural-Motor quotient was significantly lower in participants who used an orthosis than in those who did not (52.3 ± 14.7). [Conclusion] The mean quotient of the Postural-Motor area was significantly lower in patients with Down syndrome who were prescribed some kind of orthosis than in those who were not. There was a significant correlation among the quotients of the three areas. The use of orthosis was expected to positively influence the Cognitive-Adaptive and Language-Social areas through the future in people with Down syndrome who have some difficulty with posture and movement.