Systematic Review of Recent Pediatric Down Syndrome Neuropsychology Literature: Considerations for Regression Assessment and Monitoring.

Abstract

To conduct a systematic review of recent pediatric Down syndrome (DS) neuropsychology research that may be useful to clinicians and researchers examining regression in this population. We reviewed original peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2018 studying neuropsychological profiles in DS. Thirty-one articles (of 1231 included in the original search) passed all inclusion criteria, were evaluated for bias, and were included in the analysis. Findings argued against a single "DS profile" and revealed multiple within-group differences as well as expected and unexpected differences relative to typically developing children and children with other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Areas identified as most germane to regression monitoring included working memory, inhibition, letter and word identification, navigational route learning, motor skills (when strong at baseline), single word receptive/expressive vocabulary, and adaptive function.