Depressive Disorders in Adults with Down Syndrome

This is an article published in The Habilitative Mental Healthcare Newsletter in 1996.

For adults with Down syndrome, case studies describe depressive symptoms often presenting as behavioral changes such as withdrawal, loss of adaptive living skills, and observable changes in mood. In addition to severe behavioral problems, psychotic features are also a common manifestation of depression.12,21,23,25 It is, therefore, critically important that care providers recognize symptoms of depression and consider this diagnosis prior to assuming that such individuals may have Alzheimer’s disease or a psychotic disorder, for
both would lead to inappropriate treatment.