Autism in Down's syndrome: presentation and diagnosis.
Challenging behavior in Down’s syndrome may be autism—screen, don’t assume.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Doctors wrote up three kids with Down’s syndrome who acted out.
They asked: could these kids also have autism?
No big trial—just three stories to flag the idea.
What they found
All three had real autism, not just Down’s.
The team said the pair shows up more than we think.
They begged for bigger studies.
How this fits with other research
Spanoudis et al. (2011) saw the same blind spot: doctors miss depression in Down’s because they blame everything on the syndrome.
Rose et al. (2000) and McLennan et al. (2008) add that when adults with Down’s start new behavior problems, it can signal dementia—so behavior change is always a clue, not noise.
Goodwin et al. (2012) push universal autism screens for all toddlers; Jones et al. (1992) say you still need that lens even after a Down’s label.
Why it matters
If a client with Down’s hits, stalls, or tunes out, pause. Run an autism screener before you write it off as “just the syndrome.” Early ID opens doors to ABA, sensory, and communication plans that work.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although autism is said to occur rarely with Down's syndrome, it may be more common in those persons with Down's syndrome who also show superimposed behavioural problems. In this brief report, the authors explore this possibility. They describe three patients with Down's syndrome who were referred for behavioural reasons and were found to have coexisting autism. They propose that a systematic study of the association of these two conditions may have implications on research and clinical practice.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1992 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.1992.tb00563.x