“A Somewhat Different Journey” Living with Down Syndrome: The Transition to Adult Life for Persons with Down Syndrome

Lisbeth Trille G. Loft, Brown University
Dennis Hogan, Brown University

This paper aims to identify the social and demographic factors, individual intellectual and personality characteristics of the adolescents, types of family functioning, and public policy interventions that as facilitators for young people with Down syndrome as they age from adolescents to adult life. A successful transition to adulthood in this context is understood as obtaining adequate degrees of self-sufficiency to live a relatively independent life. It should be noted that people with Down syndrome often differ significantly in their individual abilities. This proposed study is focused on this difference within the group of people with Down syndrome. This paper considers what available resources have significant effect on the person with Down syndrome to gain optimal levels of self-sufficiency. The goal is to present results from some of the most recent and unique data, together with providing new insights to the trajectory of persons in their transitional stages living with Down syndrome.