Growing up with Down syndrome: Development from 6 months to 10.7 years.
In Down syndrome, social skills lead the pack and the 24-month mental-age score is your best forecast of later ability.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Marchal et al. (2016) followed 60 babies with Down syndrome for ten years. They tested motor, language, social, and daily-living skills every year.
Parents filled out the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Kids also took IQ and motor tests. The team wanted to see which early scores best predict later skills.
What they found
Social skills stayed the strongest area across all ages. Communication and daily living grew slower. Aiming and catching were the best motor skills.
The 24-month mental-age score was the single best crystal ball. It predicted school-age IQ, language, and daily living better than any other early number.
How this fits with other research
Witecy et al. (2017) extend this line: receptive grammar keeps climbing through the teen years, then stalls. Use short, simple instructions after the growth stops.
McCarron et al. (2002) pick up where Pieter stops. They show withdrawal behaviors rise after age 14. Watch for quiet, isolated teens; it may flag later depression.
Micai et al. (2021) meta-analysis seems to clash: kids with Down syndrome show small inhibition deficits. The gap is real but tiny; social strengths still dominate everyday life.
Why it matters
You can bank on social motivation. Use peer models and group games to teach new skills. Grab a mental-age score at two years; it gives you a realistic long-term roadmap. When a teen starts pulling away, probe for mood or medical issues instead of just labeling shyness.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: We analysed developmental outcomes from a clinical trial early in life and its follow-up at 10.7 years in 123 children with Down syndrome. AIMS: To determine 1) strengths and weaknesses in adaptive functioning and motor skills at 10.7 years, and 2) prognostic value of early-life characteristics (early developmental outcomes, parental and child characteristics, and comorbidity) for later intelligence, adaptive functioning and motor skills. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We used standardized assessments of mental and motor development at ages 6, 12 and 24 months, and of intelligence, adaptive functioning and motor skills at 10.7 years. We compared strengths and weaknesses in adaptive functioning and motor skills by repeated-measures ANOVAs in the total group and in children scoring above-average versus below-average. The prognostic value of demographics, comorbidity and developmental outcomes was analysed by two-step regression. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Socialisation was a stronger adaptive skill than Communication followed by Daily Living. Aiming and catching was a stronger motor skill than Manual dexterity, followed by Balance. Above-average and below-average scoring children showed different profiles of strengths and weaknesses. Gender, (the absence or presence of) infantile spasms and particularly 24-month mental functioning predicted later intelligence and adaptive functioning. Motor skills, however, appeared to be less well predicted by early life characteristics. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings provide a reference for expected developmental levels and strengths and weaknesses in Down syndrome.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.09.019