Background: Feeding difficulties, including aspiration risk, are common in children with Down syndrome. Identifying factors affecting feeding modality is crucial. Method: This cross-sectional study included 335 children with Down syndrome (aged 4-12 years; mean 5.2). Feeding was assessed using the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), the Screening…

This study explored how caregiver-reported executive functioning domains, assessed by the BRIEF2 at baseline, predicted behavioral challenges reported by caregivers using the CBCL six months later. The sample included 94 youth with Down syndrome, aged 6 to 18 years. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for…

Background: To document whether the sociocognitive peculiarities of people with Down Syndrome impact the construction of attachment at different ages, a systematic review of the literature was carried out. Method: This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses, was conducted on three databases: psycINFO,…

Investigate the association between gastrointestinal (GI) issues and psychometric scores among children with developmental delays and typical development. We examined the association between GI issues and the Mullen Scale of Early Learning (MSEL), Vineland Adaptive Behavior Subscales (VABS), and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) scores from…

Research suggests that people with a Williams syndrome (WS) or Down syndrome (DS) diagnosis display an increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) when compared to the general population. This study aimed to examine characteristics of ASD in a group of children with DS or WS. Results suggest that children with DS and WS exhibit higher…

The current study evaluates the concurrent relationship between parent ratings of executive functioning and maladaptive behavior among children and adolescents with Down syndrome and then repeats this evaluation using teacher reports. Parents and teachers of 63 school-age children with Down syndrome rated the child's executive functioning…

Purpose: To compare functioning and environmental aspects before and during physical distancing (DPD) and to determine which social, physical, behavioral and functioning aspects of DPD are correlated. Methods: Sixteen parents of children/adolescents with Down syndrome (11.38 ± 3.00 years) were surveyed before and DPD. Paired t-tests were used to…

Introduction: Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and IDD have lower psychiatric disorders rates than other individuals with IDD, and more information is needed about possible unique mental health needs of this group. Method: De-identified intake data for individuals with IDD, 101 with DS (mean age 27) and 4,366 without DS (mean age 25) served in…

Behavioral inflexibility (BI) has been highlighted to occur across genetic and neurodevelopmental disorders. This study characterized BI in two common neurogenetic conditions: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS). Caregivers of children with FXS (N = 56; with ASD = 28; FXS only = 28) and DS (N = 146) completed the Behavioral…

Social excesses, characterised by heightened social motivation, are important for describing social functioning. Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a potential exemplar of a disorder where heightened social motivation is associated with negative behavioural outcomes. In Down syndrome (DS) strong social motivation is described, but less commonly…

The contribution of childhood sibling relationships to adult sibling relationships and intention to provide care was investigated in a sample in which one member of each dyad had Down syndrome. Thirty-nine adult siblings of an adult with Down syndrome who had participated in a study of sibling relationships in childhood/adolescence provided data…

We examined autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk in a large national sample of 203 individuals with Down syndrome, 6-25 years old, to determine the association of ASD risk with age, sex, IQ, adaptive behaviors, and maladaptive behaviors. We used a two-pronged approach by (1) considering ASD symptomatology continuously across the sample of…

Background: The present study aimed at investigating mother-child dyadic co-regulation patterns in dyads with children with intellectual disability (ID). Method: 24 children paired for developmental age and vocabulary size (8 with chromosome 14 aberrations, 8 with Down syndrome, and 8 with typical development) and their mothers participated in the…

As part of standards-based reforms, there is increasing emphasis on ensuring that students with moderate intellectual disabilities (ID), including students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), learn to read. There is also converging evidence that explicit teaching of letter sounds, phonics, and sight words is effective for this population, but…

Purpose: Pragmatic language skills are often impaired above and beyond general language delays in individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This study used a multimethod approach to language sample analysis to characterize syndrome- and sex-specific profiles across different neurodevelopmental disabilities and to examine the congruency of…