Development of Down's syndrome infants with and without heart defects and changes in their caretaking environment.

The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to describe developmental and family characteristics of infants with Down's syndrome who were enrolled in an intervention programme; and (2) to examine developmental and caretaking patterns related to maternal age and congenital heart defects. Infants and their home environment were assessed at about 3 1/2 months and at 24 months of age. A sample of normal infants of equivalent developmental age were also tested for comparison. We found that while the infants with Down's syndrome showed a significant decline in their developmental quotient compared to the normals, their home environments resembled those of the normal group, particularly at the pretest. Yet, there were more improvements in the homes of the group of normal infants than in the homes of the infants with Down's syndrome, mainly in maternal responsivity. Older mothers restricted their infants with Down's syndrome more than younger mothers, but otherwise they did not seem to differ from each other. Infants with Down's syndrome without heart defects were provided with a better home environment than were infants with Down's syndrome with a heart defect. These results are discussed in the light of the biological limitations placed on the Down's syndrome infants and difficulties in parental adaptation to the diagnosis of Down's syndrome.