Photo Credit: Tatiana Diuvbanova
The following is a summary of “Developmental Milestones for Children With Down Syndrome,” published in the September 2024 issue of Pediatrics by Baumer et al.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children and adolescents with Down syndrome receive anticipatory developmental and behavior guidance.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to estimate age ranges for achieving developmental milestones in children and adolescents with Down syndrome.
They utilized standardized questionnaires to gather information from clinicians and caregivers of children with Down syndrome who received care at the Boston Children’s Hospital Down Syndrome Program between March 2018 and March 2023 (n = 842, 2 months to 24 years). The mixed-effects logistic regressions were applied to predict the probability of achieving 25 specific developmental milestones at probabilities of 15%, 30%, 45%, 60%, 75%, and 90% as a function of age.
The results showed age norms for the achievement of critical developmental milestones across academic, adaptive, language, and motor domains, calculated at ages with a 75% probability of achievement (P<0.05). The norms were then compared to established milestones for the general population.
