Functional skills and caregiver assistance of Brazilian children and adolescents with Down syndrome

BACKGROUND: Research into the evolution of the functional performance of children and adolescents with DS enables parents and professionals involved in their follow-up to promote their development. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the functional abilities of children and adolescents with Down syndrome and the assistance offered by their parents/caregivers. METHOD: A cross-sectional study, with 100 children and adolescents with DS whom parents or caregivers were interviewed to complete the Paediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI). Linear regression analyses were performed with the software MedCalc version 16.8.4 and GraphPad Prism version 6.07. RESULTS: Children and adolescents with DS need more time to acquire skills of self-care, mobility and social function. Their parents were able to better identify the difficulties before the children reached 8-years of age. CONCLUSION: Parents can identify the difficulties of their children when they are younger and offer more assistance, but this does not happen when the children are of elementary school age. This suggests that they need professional support that is not restricted to the guidelines and the schools.