Review of early development in children with Down syndrome: family and clinician partnership

This article reviews current literature on early child development in Down syndrome (DS) to provide a summary for clinicians who deliver developmental care. Literature was reviewed on acquisition of developmental skills across domains including motor, language, vision and hearing skills, and evidence for interventions. We include current concepts on promotion of early developmental care and the importance of clinician-family collaboration. The perspective of a family is included which highlights their experience of the early years.Professionals including paediatricians and therapists have a role in monitoring development and proactively identifying and mitigating co-morbidities and barriers to progress. Families are best served by integrated therapeutic and educational input from specialists where required, with customised interventions when delays are apparent.The use of DS-specific developmental frameworks and monitoring for conditions which may impact development is suggested to enable realistic, meaningful and individualised goal setting, in partnership with families. Our review additionally provides a summary of potential actions for clinicians and carers to promote optimal child development across developmental domains.