BEHAVIOR IN CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

Parental Perspective on Management of Challenging Behaviors in Children with Down Syndrome

Abstract

Children with Down syndrome are at an advanced risk for engaging in challenging demeanour that may be part of a behavioural phenotype characteristic of Down syndrome. The methodology of applied behaviour investigation has been illustrated effective with a broad range of demanding behaviours, across diverse disabilities. submissions to young kids with Down syndrome and the examination of behaviourally founded schemes to expressly address the exclusive characteristics of children with Down syndrome are restricted. although, there are some studies in which a subset of the participants did have Down syndrome. A handful of these investigations are reviewed within the context of functional behaviour evaluation and affirmative Behavioural carries. Drawing from these studies and the behavioural publications, as well as the authors' clinical experience and study, suggestions considering early intervention for demanding behaviour with children with Down syndrome are provided.

Parental Perspective on Management of in Children with Down syndrome

Introduction

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder with a prevalence of approximately 1:600 to 1:700 births, is strongly associated with mental retardation, and is usually identified at birth and confirmed by a karyotype showing trisomy of chromosome 21. The additional material of an extra chromosome 21 appears to affect almost every organ system, resulting in a wide spectrum of consequences, some of which are life threatening (e.g., cardiac complications), some of which significantly alter the individual's life course (e.g., mental retardation), and some of which are merely curious characteristics found more often among individuals with Down syndrome (e.g., a crease that traverses across the palm of the hand).

Radical Changes

In the context of radical changes in the life expectancies and life experiences of individuals with Down syndrome, parents have considerably less certainty than in years past about their child's development, especially in the United States in the 1990s, where "the sky's the limit" is often the polite framework for this topic. The ease with which professionals can identify Down syndrome in even very young children makes possible a sense of solidarity among many families who seem only to share the family characteristic of having a child with Down syndrome.

Ironically, during the first few months of life, babies with Down syndrome are less likely to be identified as such by strangers, and parents often seem to experience a "honeymoon" period for the first 6 months or so, reporting that the baby with Down syndrome is "just like" the other children in the family at that age. When the child is wrapped in a blanket and nestled into a parent's arms, it is in fact much more difficult to notice the stigmata of Down syndrome. In addition, parents and others are typically unaware of the subtle differences that differentiate babies with Down syndrome from typically developing babies. In fact, tests of early infancy evaluate many of these babies as "normal" (Shonkoff, Hauser-Cram, Krauss, & Upshur, 1992, pp. 21-22), supporting parental dreams of escaping retardation for their ...