Psychomotor abilities of children with Down’s syndrome engaged in recreational swimming

Relevance. Children born with Down’s syndrome are often characterized by impaired physical and mental development and need timely diagnosis and appropriate corrective and developmental work. Assistance provided during sensitive periods of development of a particular child allows you to make negative deviations reversible, including in the motor sphere. Recreational swimming, this rehabilitation takes into account the individual characteristics of the child, the main defects of his development, is aimed at the formation of motor skills and the leveling of disorders of neuromotor mechanisms. In this regard, it is interesting to study the dynamics of motor abilities and the neuronal sphere in children with Down’s syndrome in the process of recreational swimming. The aim of the work was to study the psychomotor abilities of children with Down’s syndrome engaged in recreational swimming. Methods. 10 children aged 6-8 years with Down’s syndrome were examined in the swimming pool of the Kuban State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism, at the beginning and at the end of the year of study. Psychomotor activity was analyzed using specific tests, with a point system. With the help of the Statistica 10program, the results were processed. Results. A comparative analysis of the results of testing children with Down syndrome, obtained at the beginning and at the end of the year of training in recreational swimming, revealed a positive dynamics of psychomotor indicators. When implementing all tests, it was noted to reduce the deficit of spatial representations and spatial-motor coordination, leveling the problems associated with the implementation of voluntary movements, and reducing the inaccuracy of movements. Conclusion. Systematic recreational swimming activities contribute to the effective development of psychomotor processes, a decrease in the hypotonic manifestations of the structures of the central nervous system and an increase in coordination abilities in children with Down’s syndrome.