A new study published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities found that children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have a harder time doing two things at once compared to peers without the disease. This challenge with so-called “dual task performance” can negatively affect everyday activities like walking while holding something or trying to remember important information while moving.
The study included 45 children with DMD and 49 typically developed children without the condition. The researchers instructed the participants — all of whom were 6 years of age or older — to perform a series of tasks, including carrying two half-filled 500 ml plastic bottles in each hand, counting backwards from 10 and playing a memory game where they needed to recall specific words. They carried out each of these tasks while simultaneously walking a 10 meter distance (just over 30 feet).
The results showed that the children with DMD performed significantly worse in all dual-task scenarios than their counterparts. These findings highlight how DMD may prohibit children from partaking in simple, everyday scenarios like walking while carrying a bag or having a conversation with their friends.
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The researchers emphasized the importance of healthcare providers incorporating dual-task therapy into rehab programs.
“Traditional rehabilitation approaches often address motor and cognitive tasks separately, potentially overlooking situations that children with DMD encounter in daily life, where they need to perform both areas simultaneously,” they wrote. “It is believed that by combining motor and cognitive functions, children with DMD can be supported in achieving more realistic rehabilitation goals.”
The results echo a similar recent study done in 28 children that also found those with DMD have trouble with dual task performance. The researchers say larger, more comprehensive studies are needed to better understand the factors affecting dual-task performance in children with DMD and how challenges with doing two things at once impacts their wellbeing.
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