Longitudinal development data from 40 home-reared children with Down syndrome who had been enrolled in an infant stimulation program were analyzed by level of maternal education: high, medium, or low. High level of maternal education was significantly correlated with higher mental development scores ( P .001) and significantly different from scores of those with medium and low maternal educational level ( P .001). The differences between groups with medium and low maternal education showed the same trend but were not signficant. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that these differences were consistently significant throughout the age range. Analysis of longitudinal data of a subgroup of 11 children with Down syndrome showed remarkable intrasubject consistency and intersubject variability. This suggests that the intellectual functioning of the population with Down syndrome is not a uniform one but is subject to the same genetic and environmental influences as the rest of the population. The creation of percentile charts is advocated for the evaluation of treatment programs.
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