Treadmill training - getting a leg up on the competition!!

Here is the link to a story being picked up by the media. It is about the use of treadmills for infants/toddlers with Down syndrome. Dr. Ulrich of the University of Michigan's Department of Kinesiology is the brainchild behind this concept and he asked me and Lauren to come up for the taping of the information segment:

Lauren on the treadmill (the video segment is on the right).

Dr. Ulrich, aside from being a really nice & caring person, is deeply interested in kids with Ds, like Lauren, as well as kids with other motor planning issues and physical disabilities. His interest goes way back to his undergraduate studies in physical education and he has devoted his career and research to uncovering what will help our children develop greater physical skills.

While we aren't officially enrolled in the study (which recommends that you have your baby walk on the treadmill for 8 minutes per day), Dr. Ulrich is gracious enough to bring a treadmill to your home if you live within a 100 mile radius of Ann Arbor.

I can say without hesitation that it has made Lauren stronger and more capable. We don't use it as much as the research recommends but I can definitely see how it had helped Lauren's little body develop the motor pattern for walking, something that children with Down syndrome don't come by as naturally as other children.