2-PLATED TAPPING PERFORMANCE BY DOWNS-SYNDROME AND NON-DOWNS SYNDROME RETARDATES

Down's syndrome adolescents were compared with age‐ and I.Q.‐matched non‐Down's syndrome retardates on a two‐point finger tapping task. No difference was demonstrated in overall tapping rate between the two groups over a 60‐sec trial, however, Down's syndrome subjects made significantly more errors as measured by same‐plate tapping. Further, a significant correlation was found between rate of tapping and failure to alternate from one plate to the other in the Down's syndrome, but not in the non‐Down's syndrome group. These rates were interpreted as supportive of a hypothesis put forward by Frith and Frith (1974) which suggested that Down's syndrome retardates show a deficit in developing and utilizing preprogrammed motor sequences. Copyright © 1979, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved