This article reports on the schooling, employment, life experiences, and general skills of 66 students with Down syndrome (ages 13 to 20) in New South Wales, Australia. Comparison with British and American studies is also provided. Results suggest that changes in services begun in the 1970s generally resulted in improved outcomes for these…

A comparison of 33 Australian adolescents with Down syndrome who did not receive early intervention services and 41 adolescents with Down syndrome who had received early intervention services found no significant difference between the two cohorts in cognitive functioning. Socioeconomic status, mothers' education, and gender were predictors of…

A study investigated the motor development in 99 Australian children (ages 10-16) with Down syndrome. Results showed that the children's motor proficiency continued to progress into adolescence and that there were a wide range of inter- and intra-individual differences in their skill levels and rates of progress. (Author/CR)

Forty-five Australian families with children with Down syndrome and 88 comparison families provided information about their children's behavior problems and involvement in household tasks. For the brothers of children with Down syndrome, significant negative correlations between household tasks and behavior problems were found on fathers' reports.…

A study involving 14 Australian mothers of children with spina bifida, 17 mothers with children with Down syndrome, and 38 control mothers, found that the experiences of being a mother were characterized by similarities rather than differences among the three groups. Differences in experiences tended to be disability specific. (CR)

A study examined the development of language and literacy skills in 30 Australian young adults with Down syndrome. Results indicated all but one had learned to read and that there was a positive relationships between age, attendance at integrated schools, and achievement in reading and language skills. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Following an examination of the ways in which literacy is taught in the Literacy and Technology Hands-On (LATCH-ON) project at the University of Queensland, Australia, this article describes some of the reading-related literacy learning of 17 young adults with Down syndrome who participated in the 2-year course. (Contains references.) (CR)