Parental and professional perceptions of the levels of disability in children with Down's syndrome

Objectives, subjects and methods A study was undertaken to determine whether parents of children with Down's syndrome view their child's levels of disability differently from their medical assessments. Questionnaires, based on a standard medical assessment were sent to the parents of 72 children with Down's syndrome aged 0–18 years. Data on the children's most recent medical assessment were obtained from the special needs module of the child health computer.

Results From the 47 returned questionnaires, there were no significant differences in parental and professional assessments of the children's mobility, hand function or hearing. Parents rated their child's vision, behaviour, health and growth, and personal care as significantly more impaired than did the doctors, but rated their speech and language as less impaired.

Conclusions This study suggests that there are some differences between parental and professional assessments of disability levels in children with Down's syndrome and that medical assessments could take a more family-orientated approach.