The effect of early intervention and pre-school stimulus on the development of the Down's syndrome child

This paper describes the effect on a group of D.S. children of early and continuous parental counselling together with intensive pre-school stimulation in which the parents were fully involved. The stimulated group is compared with a similar group who developed unaided in their own homes, and with a third group who were institutionalised before their second birthday. Developmental Clinics in East Kent providing the stimulus are described. The effects of social class, parental age and family pattern were noted. The tests used were the Griffiths' Developmental and Stanford-Binet Scales, and the school placement at five years was studied. The results show that the stimulated group score higher on the IQ and DQ tests and particularly on Personal Social and Speech Development. School placement acts as an unbiased measurement of progress, and suggests that they are more easily integrated into the normal community.