Using matched groups to explore child behavior problems and maternal well-being in children with Down syndrome and autism.
Autism brings more behavior problems and higher mom stress than Down syndrome or other ID, so start parent support early.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Busch et al. (2010) compared the kids with autism to the kids with Down syndrome and the kids with other intellectual disabilities. All groups were matched on age and IQ.
They used parent checklists to count behavior problems and social skills. Moms also filled out stress and mood scales.
What they found
The autism group had the most tantrums, hyperactivity, and social withdrawal. Their moms reported the highest stress and lowest positive views of parenting.
Kids with Down syndrome showed fewer behavior issues and better social skills than the other two groups.
How this fits with other research
Eisenmajer et al. (1998) saw the same pattern 12 years earlier: Down syndrome kids were easier than other ID kids, but autism kids were hardest. The 2010 study adds an autism-only group and confirms the ranking still holds.
Yorke et al. (2018) pooled 40+ papers and found that any extra behavior problem in autism raises parent stress. Busch et al. (2010) is one of the studies inside that meta, so the results line up perfectly.
Amaral et al. (2017) looked at Down syndrome kids who also screen positive for autism. Those kids act more like the autism group than the Down syndrome group, showing the label, not the syndrome, drives the behavior gap.
Why it matters
When you see an autism file, plan for more intense parent support from day one. Use brief stress screens at intake and offer respite or parent training before burnout peaks. For Down syndrome cases, celebrate the calmer profile but still watch for any autism red flags that could flip the script.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Mothers of children with Down syndrome, autism, and mixed etiology intellectual disabilities, matched on child age, gender, and communication skills (n = 19 in each group) completed measures of their child's adaptive and problem behaviors, their own parenting stress, and positive perceptions of their child. Children with autism were rated as having more problem behaviors and lower levels of social competence than children with Down syndrome and mixed etiology intellectual disabilities. Mothers of children with autism scored lower on positive perceptions of their child, and higher on stress than the other two groups. After selecting closely matched groups, we found several group differences in child behavior but little evidence of group differences in maternal outcomes.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2010 · doi:10.1007/s10803-009-0906-1