The social and familial history of Down syndrome in the United States with current perspectives

[摘要] The societal and familial perspective of individuals with Down syndrome over the past 100 years was analyzed to discover how the United States as a society values interactions with these individuals during different ages in their life span. By completing a literature review, and conducting online Qualtrics surveys and personal interviews, we further explored the experience of parents of children with Down syndrome. Through thematic analysis with survey and interview data, we found parents experience high overall life satisfaction. However, parents’ experiences varied during different life stages of their child, with changing needs for their child and specific complications with other members of society, such as healthcare professionals, family, and peers.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh