The development of children with Down syndrome: The influence of maternal adaptation, mother-child interaction and early forms of support

In this paper, we present a longitudinal case study involving four dyads with babies with Down syndrome from birth until the age of 7 years - the moment at which the children were observed for the last time before they began compulsory schooling. At each data collection point, the mother was given a semi-directive interview and we filmed a free interaction situation. The objective of our study was to carry out an in-depth analysis of the ways in which mothers adapt to the birth of a 'different baby', the evolution of their expectations in relation to the child's development, mother-child interaction and early support for both the child and the family, and the way in which these aspects of the overall situation relate to the children's development. The data of our longitudinal study show that there is an interaction between children's development and family characteristics and patterns, particularly mother-child interaction and the way in which the mother deals with the stress factors associated with the fact that she has a disabled child. We found that the four dyads experienced different models of early support, which to some extent reflect what really does happen in Portugal in cases involving children with disabilities, and that the programmes' impact was not identical in every situation. The most successful was the one which best suited the family's wishes, and involved both the mother and later on the kindergarten teacher.