Infants generate multiple spontaneous movements in the early months of life.
This activity is thought to be an exploratory process by which infants learn how to control their own bodies. Furthermore, we hypothesize that those infants that produce, and therefore practice, more coordinated movements, will demonstrate an earlier onset of functional motor milestones, such as pulling to stand or walking, compared to those that produce less coordinated movements. Infants with and without DS will be followed longitudinally from 3 months of age until they walk independently. We will analyze spontaneous activity differences in infants with DS who were born with and without cardiac problems. We will also analyze changes in activity level following heart surgery.