Behavioral Challenges in Young Children with Down Syndrome

Behavioral challenges in children with Down syndrome can seriously impact their socialization and development. The precursors of behavioral challenges have been found to emerge early in life. This survey involves families from different federal districts of Russia, including the Central, Southern, North Caucasian, Volga, Siberian, and Far Eastern Federal Districts of the Russian Federation. Of all survey participants, 80% of parents who raise children from 1 to 4 years old with Down syndrome reported that their children have behavioral difficulties. They reported that the child is aggressive, refuses to play and interact, does not respond to adult suggestions, and may engage in behavior that the parent does not understand, including provoking dangerous situations. The analysis of mother-child interactions in early childhood through video recordings showed that children with Down syndrome exhibit undesirable behaviors similar to children with normal development. Behavioral problems are combined with the child’s specific characteristics of his or her interactions, indicating low motivation to interact with the mother. The child does not make requests and offers to his or her mother in socially accepted ways. The child often expresses their desires through provocative actions because they have limited traditional interaction means. The mother does not support the child’s activity in interaction. A disturbed parity in the interaction between the mother and the child is expressed in the child’s preference to engage in toys alone while trying different ways of acting that force the parent to pay attention to the child, consider their will, and make changes. Looking at a child’s problem behavior through an analysis of his or her reactive and initiatory behaviors offers a different perspective on the root causes of these difficulties and requires that professionals consider this when working with families.