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Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) Improves Adaptive Behaviors in Adolescents with Down Syndrome

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Abstract

The aim of this research study was to examine the effects of Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) on adaptive/maladaptive behaviors, depression, and self-efficacy in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). The participants were counterbalanced to either intervention groups of 1) Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT), in which the participants’ voluntary pedaling rates were augmented with a motor to ensure the maintenance of 80 rpm or greater 2) Voluntary Cycling (VC), in which participants cycled at their self-selected pedaling rate or 3) No Cycling (NC), in which the participants sat and watched a video. The ACT and VC groups exercised 3 days a week for 8 weeks for 30 min. Adaptive behavior was measured by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) II to analyze the changes in daily living skills and maladaptive behaviors, depression was measured by the Children’s Depressive Inventory, and exercise perception and self-efficacy were measured by the PASE scale, pre and post interventions. The result of this study revealed that social coping skills (p = .001) and depression (p = .022) improved more after participating in ACT than VC or NC interventions. In addition, externalizing maladaptive behaviors (p = .023) improved pre and post ACT and VC interventions but not NC. Our results are discussed with respect to neurological mechanisms associated with our interventions and their effect on functioning in adolescents with DS.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona and Down Syndrome Network for all of their support for this research. This article is in memory of Tom Lambke (1956 -2016). Tom changed his life to help his son, Bryan, who has Down syndrome and others with special needs. His positive attitude made everyone who knew him smile. Thank you to undergraduate research interns Cayla Jenkins, Rachel Ganger, Alicia Benson, Andrew Jimenez, Shana McGownd, Kelsey Millar, Megan Cook, Amber Sandoval-Mendez, Madeline Richter, Kristin Fankhauser, Megan Oberbillig, Emily OMalley, Julie Brennan, Michelle Snow, Lauren Moss-Hunt, Katy Lichtsinn, Logan Semper, Arielle Biwer and Andrew Albert and post doctoral student Genna Mulvey. This research was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 1R03HD073652-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University, Arizona Biomedical Collaborative, 425 N. 5th St., Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

    S. D. R. Ringenbach, S. D. Holzapfel, N. E. Arnold, K. Nam, C. Lopez, M. P. Buman, J. Teslevich & K. C. Wallace

  2. Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    S. D. R. Ringenbach

  3. Department of Kinesiology, Mississippi State University, Mailstop 6186, 162 Creelman Street, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    C.-C. Chen

  4. Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, 550 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

    S. D. Youngstedt

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The Scientific and Ethics committee of Arizona State University provided approval for the study. All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

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Ringenbach, S.D.R., Holzapfel, S.D., Arnold, N.E. et al. Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) Improves Adaptive Behaviors in Adolescents with Down Syndrome. J Dev Phys Disabil 32, 535–552 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-019-09706-z

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