Mainstream and special school attendance among a Dutch cohort of children with Down Syndrome.

OBJECT: To determine the level of mainstream education in a nationwide cohort of adolescents with Down Syndrome (DS), and to find characteristics related to mainstream or special school attendance. METHOD: Dutch children with DS born in 1992, 1993 or 1994, were assessed when 16-19 years old. Parents scored school enrolment between the age of 4-18 years, general characteristics and the levels of intellectual disability using the Dutch Social Competence Rating Scale. Associations between disability and years in mainstream school were assessed by ordinal logistic regression, adjusting for sex and parental education. RESULTS: We collected data from 170 boys and 152 girls (response 63%); mean age 18.3 years (ranges 16.8-19.9). Intellectual disability was mostly moderate (43%). Most children (74%) entered mainstream education between 4 and 6 years of age. At 13 years 17% was in mainstream school and 7% stayed in up to 16 years. From the age of 8 years onwards the majority was in special education, while 6% never attended school. Girls were more often in mainstream school and stayed in longer. Level of disability was significantly associated with number of years in mainstream education. CONCLUSION: Three out of four Dutch children with DS entered mainstream primary education, however late entry and high dropout are common

Prevalence of Overweight in Dutch Children With Down Syndrome

Prevalence of overweight in children is increasing, causing various health problems. This study aims to establish growth references for weight and to assess the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in a nationwide sample of Dutch children with Down syndrome (DS), taking into account the influence of comorbidity. METHODS: In 2009, longitudinal growth data from Dutch children with trisomy 21 who were born after 1982 were retrospectively collected from medical records of 25 Dutch regional specialized DS centers. “Healthy” was defined as not having concomitant disorders or having only a mild congenital heart defect. Weight and BMI references were calculated by using the LMS method, and prevalence rates of overweight and obesity by using cutoff values for BMI as defined by the International Obesity Task Force. Differences in prevalence rates were tested by multilevel logistic regression analyses to adjust for gender and age. RESULTS: Growth data of 1596 children with DS were analyzed. Compared with the general Dutch population, healthy children with DS were more often overweight (25.5% vs 13.3% in boys, and 32.0% vs 14.9% in girls) and obese (4.2% vs 1.8%, and 5.1% vs 2.2%, respectively). Prevalence rates of overweight between DS children with or without concomitant disorders did not vary significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Dutch children with DS have alarmingly high prevalence rates of overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence. Health care professionals should be aware of the risk of overweight and obesity in children with DS to prevent complications

School enrolment of Dutch children with Down Syndrome by age, as retrospectively reported by their parents at the end of school career (n = 322).

<p>School enrolment of Dutch children with Down Syndrome by age, as retrospectively reported by their parents at the end of school career (n = 322).</p

School enrolment^* of Dutch children with Down syndrome (n = 319); arranged by sex.

<p>*Data of school enrollment from 4 to 16 years were presented, since data on 17 and 18 years were not complete (some subjects are under 17 at the time of study).</p

The proportion of resp. girls (n = 151) and boys (n = 170) in categories of years of mainstream school by level of intellectual disability.

<p>The proportion of resp. girls (n = 151) and boys (n = 170) in categories of years of mainstream school by level of intellectual disability.</p

General characteristics of the adolescents with Down syndrome (n = 322).

<p>Abbreviation: SD – standard deviation.</p><p>* Boys with DS compared to girls with DS.</p>∧<p>Both parents born in the Netherlands.</p