BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS OF CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

STUDENT :EURIDIKI DAMOULIANOU

Instructor : Barbara KondilisCourse : Developmental Psychology 1Winter 2011

SOME PHOTOS…

AGENDA Definition of Down-Syndrome Historical background Features & traits of children with Down

syndrome Causes Previous literature findings Our observational study:

hypothesisparticipants procedure materials resultsdiscussion

INTRODUCTIONWHAT IS DOWN SYNDROME?

It is a set of mental and physical symptoms that result from having an extra copy of chromosome 21

in other words… A set of physical, mental and

behavioral characteristics that are due to a specific genetic abnormality (Leshin, 2003).

INTRODUCTION HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF DOWN-SYNDROME

In 1866 John Langdon Down described a group of children with common traits that differed from other children with mental retardation.

In the beginning, children with Down syndrome were referred as “mongoloids” because they looked like people from Mongolia but, the term was changed to Down’s syndrome.

INTRODUCTION HISTORICAL BACKGROUND…SOME PHOTOS…

INTRODUCTION AN OVERVIEW

Every cell in the human body contains genetic material stored in genes that carry inherited traits which are grouped in structures called chromosomes.

The nucleus of each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, half of which are inherited from each parent (www.ndss.org).

INTRODUCTION CAUSES Down syndrome is caused when an

embryo has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two. This supplemental chromosome 21 changes the embryo’s development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome (www.ndss.org).

INTRODUCTION ASSOCIATED FEATURES

Flattened face & nose Short neck & poor muscle tone Small mouth sometimes with a large tongue Small ears & short fingers Upward eyes that may have small skin folds

at the inner corner White spots in the iris(www.medicinenet.com).

INTRODUCTION ASSOCIATED FEATURES (CONT.)

Increased risk for various medical states such as (www.ndss.org): Heart defects Hearing problems Alzheimer's disease Leukemia Thyroid conditions

INTRODUCTION ASSOCIATED FEATURES (CONT.)

Cognitive delays and difficulties in: developing basic language skills & motor

skills & learning abilities (such as memory &

concentration problems ).

Difficulty in: solving problems & the comprehension of consequences of

their actions (Iarocci, Reebye & Virji-Babul, 2006).

INTRODUCTION PREVIOUS LITERATURE

Children with Down syndrome: Experience limited peer involvement &

have difficulties in socializing with their peers.

Have fewer peer contacts and engage in very few activities with other children.

Have the tendency to exhibit problematic behaviors such as stubbornness, inattention, difficulties concentrating, attention-seeking, and impulsivity (Guralnick, 2002).

INTRODUCTIONHYPOTHESIS

Children with Down syndrome have difficulties in interacting with each other and display abnormal behavior and significant impairment when disturbed.

METHOD Participants:

Ten children (aged 7-18 years old) with Down syndrome.

Five boys & five girls of greek nationality from different socio-economical backgrounds.

Materials:A Likert-scale from zero (absolutely not) to

five (absolutely yes) was used.The emotions observed & evaluated were:

Crying Anger Affection Happiness

METHOD

Materials (Cont.):The behavioral patterns and interaction

with the others observed and evaluated using the Likert scale were: self & group play aggressiveness among the children

with Down syndrome.

METHODPROCEDURE

We visited a school with children with special needs in order to observe their general behavior in the classroom environment.

We had a brief discussion with one of their teachers to describe us the behavioral and emotional predispositions that children with Down-Syndrome display.

We stayed there for about 2 hours observing 10 children carefully.

We used the Likert scale where the behavioral patterns which we wanted to observe were written down to a list.

METHODPROCEDURE (CONT.) The first 30 minutes their teacher read

them a story & asked to describe him their emotions or thoughts about this story

Afterwards the children did a couple of activities such as :drawingtalking with each other playing some computer gamessome group games such as monopolyreading some books with short stories and

a lot of images

METHODPROCEDURE (CONT.)

Their teacher tried to disturb them to test their reactions: He took away the books that two children were reading

& the painting that another child was holding. He increased the tone of his voice. Did some quick movements inside the class.

When we finished our observation….We went to another classroom to evaluate the behavioral

patterns that children with Down syndrome displayed.

METHODRESEARCH DESIGN

The independent variable of the proposed study was the teacher’s behavior and the dependent variable was the behavioral patterns of children with Down syndrome, their reactions and social interactions.

RESULTS Children were quiet & shy Were not aggressive Did not articulate verbally their emotions They expressed their emotions mainly through body

language and facial expressions Children interacted with each other quite well They seemed to enjoy both the self–play and the group-play They got only upset if someone got away their things or

spoke to them aggressively but they forgot it very easily They constantly asked for hugs & affection !! After their teacher read them a story & asked from them to

express their emotions about it, 8 out of the 10 subjects used facial expressions and body language to show their

feelings.

RESULTS (CONT.)

When their teacher tried to examine their reactions (how they react if someone disturbs them), we found out that if someone tries to take away their personal things or speak to them aggressively:they get upset and frustrateddo quick movementsshow their anxiety with facial expressions

associated with angertremble a bit

RESULTS (CONT.)

But... if afterwards you show affection and hug them (like their teacher did), they calm down very easily.

RESULTS (CONT.)

Mode for crying

Mode for self-play

Mode for group-play

• 0 out of 5

• 5 out 5

• 4 out 5

RESULTS (CONT.)

Mode for happiness

Mode for anger & anxiety

Mode for affection

• 4 out 5

• 0 out 5

• 4 out 5

DISCUSSION Our hypothesis was not proven !!

The children in our observational study seemed to interact with each other, be happy, calm and not display aggressiveness or any other problematic behavior.

Nine out of the ten subjects had a moderate mental retardation so we cannot estimate or predict how children with higher mental retardation would behave.

We conducted our study in a natural setting BUT we still do not know how these children would interact with or behave in their homes or in other settings apart from school.

DISCUSSION (CONT).

Limitations: Our study has a limited external validity

(sample of 10 individuals) & we do not know if our results can be applied to all children with Down syndrome.

Suggestions: Scientists should investigate larger sample

of children with Down-Syndrome to various environments with various degrees of mental retardation

CONCLUSION

The behavioral patterns and the degree of interaction that children with Down syndrome display are not due merely to their medical condition BUT also to the stimuli & warmth they get from their families and their environment !!

SOME ADDITIONAL PHOTOS…

THANKS…

Thank you ladies !!! And please ….

Do to not forget to show support to people who really need it like the children with Down syndrome !!!

REFERENCES Dykens, E. M. (2007). Psychiatric and behavioral disorders in

persons with Down syndrome. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 13, 272- 278.

Guralnick, M. J. (2002). Involvement with peers: Comparisons between young children with and without Down’s syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 45(5), 379- 393.

Iarocci, G., Reebye, P., & Virji-Babul, N. (2006). The learn at play program (LAPP): Merging family, developmental research, early intervention, and policy goals for children with Down syndrome. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 3(1), 11-21.

Leshin, L. (2003). Trisomy 21: The story of Down syndrome. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://www.ds-health.com.

Medline Plus. (2011). Down syndrome. Retrieved February 25, 2011from

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/downsyndrome.html. Medicine Net. (2011). What are the characteristic features and

symptoms of Down

syndrome? Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://www.medicinenet.com/down_syndrome/page3.htm.

REFERENCES

National Down Syndrome Society. (2011).What causes Down syndrome. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://www.ndss.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60:what-causes-ds&catid=35: about-down-syndrome.

National Health System. (2011). Symptoms of Down’s syndrome. Retrieved February 25, 2011from http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Downssyndrome/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

Vicari, S. (2006). Motor development and neuropsychological patterns in persons with Down syndrome. Behavior Genetics, 36(3), (doi: 10. 1037/a0021109).

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