AIMS: To investigate the effectiveness of combining home-based programs with early intervention (EI) as an occupational therapy strategy for children with Down Syndrome. METHODS: A six-month longitudinal pilot study was conducted with 30 children with DS aged 0-3 years, recruited from an early intervention institute in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Participants were allocated to a control group (EI only) or an experimental group (EI plus home-based programs grounded in Family-Centered Practice (FCP)). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and post-intervention using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI), and the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development (AHEMD). RESULTS: < 0.001). However, the experimental group showed moderate effect sizes (Hedges' g) in occupational performance (0.61), satisfaction (0.50), and self-care (0.56), while the remaining outcomes presented small effects. No significant between-group differences were observed in environmental affordances. CONCLUSION: The integration of home-based programs grounded in FCP into early intervention was associated with greater improvements in occupational performance, caregiver satisfaction, and self-care skills in young children with Down Syndrome. These findings support home-based programs as a feasible and effective complementary occupational therapy approach within early intervention services.
Dheming et al. (Thu,) studied this question.