The Effects of Adapted Physical Exercise on Gross Motor Function and Motor Abilities in Child With Multiple Disabilities

Volume 14, Issue 2 (2024)

The Effects of Adapted Physical Exercise on Gross Motor Function and Motor Abilities in Child With Multiple Disabilities
Doris Molnar, Romana Romanov, Zoran Milić
Abstract: 
This case study aims to determine the effects of adapted physical exercise on gross motor function and motor abilities in a child with multiple disabilities. The subject is a 12-year-old boy diagnosed with a multiple disabilities with limitations identified within physical, mental and sensory integrity. The applied experimental treatment, defined according to his needs and abilities, consisted of an exercise program implemented for 4 months, twice a week for 45 minutes and is programmed with the aim of myofascial relaxation, passive stretching, corrective-compensatory effects and the development of gross motor skills and strength. The instruments used to test the initial and final state are the clinical test for assessing the gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy “GMFM-Gross motor functional movement measure-88” and the Eurofit battery test for assessing motor abilities. Variables based on a specific group of GMFM test items indicate that the gross motor function assessed at the final measurement were improved by 6% compared to the initial measurement. In the measured variables of the Eurofit battery test, positive changes in the results were achieved in the standing broad jump, sit and reach, plate tapping, sit ups in 30 seconds, while the result of the bent arm hang test remained unchanged. The results in this study suggest that the application of the experimental program had a positive effect on the motor abilities and gross motor function of child with multiple disabilities.
Keywords: 
adapted physical exercise, multiple disabilties, cerebral palsy, gross motor function.
Full Text: 
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DOI: 
http://dx.doi.org/10.7251/SSH2402173M
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