title: Parent Stress and Perceptions of Language Development: Comparing Down Syndrome and Other Developmental Disabilities.
abstract: This study extended research on the Down syndrome advantage by examining differences in parent stress and parent perceptions of language development between 29 parents of young children with Down syndrome and 82 parents of children with other developmental disabilities. Parents of children with Down syndrome reported lower levels of total stress, child-related stress, and stress surrounding the parent-child interaction. Parents of children in both groups reported that they felt successful in their ability to impact their children's communication development but did differ on perceptions of difficulty such that parents of children with Down syndrome perceived their children's communication difficulties as less severe despite the children exhibiting similar language skills. Finally, after accounting for potential explanatory confounding variables, child diagnosis remained a significant predictor of parent stress and perceptions of language development. Results highlight the importance of considering etiology when assisting families raising a child with a disability.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Avenue, Room 533, Madison, WI 53705, Tel: 608-265-5830, alsmith35@waisman.wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Ashlyn L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Departments of Communication and Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5060, Atlanta, GA 30302, Tel: 404-413-5101, mromski@gsu.edu.
authors.forename: Maryann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, 736 Urban Life Building, Atlanta, GA 30303, Tel: 404-413-6296, rsevcik@gsu.edu.
authors.forename: Rose A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sevcik
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, 750 Urban Life Building, Atlanta, GA 30303, Tel: 404-413-6256, ladamson@gsu.edu.
authors.forename: Lauren B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Adamson
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, PCD 1017, Tampa, Florida 33620, Tel: 813-974-8760, rmbarker@usf.edu.
authors.forename: R Michael
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Barker
keywords: Down syndrome; intellectual and/or developmental disability; parent perceptions of language development; parent stress
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