Anna Esbensen, PhD
Understanding and Addressing Neurobehavioral Functioning in Individuals with Down Syndrome
Esbensen is an international expert in Down syndrome (DS), whose current research identifies best practices for measuring and addressing cognitive, executive functioning, and behavioral issues in children and young adults with DS. An estimated 20-40% of individuals with Down syndrome face another frequent neurobehavioral disorder, attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, diagnosing ADHD in individuals with DS is often challenging since it can be difficult to determine whether some ADHD features (e.g., behavioral inattention, task avoidance, and forgetting daily activities) result from the individual’s intellectual disability or whether coexisting ADHD is present. Unfortunately, due to a paucity of prior research, whether specific ADHD symptoms or symptom domains might have better diagnostic utility among children with DS is unknown. To address this clinical dilemma, Esbensen and colleagues in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology conducted an investigation evaluating ADHD symptom patterns among 22 children with Down syndrome and ADHD, 66 gender- and age-matched children with Down syndrome but no diagnosis of ADHD, and 66 gender- and age-matched typically developing children with ADHD. This study, published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, found that specific parent report items (e.g., distractibility and being “on the go”) were particularly useful for differentiating children with DS with coexisting ADHD from those who did not, while a separate set of teacher-reported items (i.e., difficulties following through on tasks, avoiding tasks, leaving one’s seat, and excessive talking) was most salient for identifying ADHD in DS. These findings suggest certain symptoms may be most informative when conducting an ADHD evaluation in individuals with DS, while variability in response patterns between parent and teacher symptom reports underscores the need to evaluate ADHD symptoms across environments. Esbensen and colleagues (Esbensen and Tanya Froehlich, MD, MS, FAAP, multi-principal investigators) are continuing their efforts to uncover best practices for identifying and treating neurobehavioral issues in this group through their National Institute of Health-funded study aimed at determining the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of treating ADHD in individuals with Down syndrome using the stimulant medication methylphenidate.
Ilka Riddle, PhD, and Kara Ayers, PhD
Preventing COVID-19 among People with Disabilities
Since the pandemic began, faculty and staff in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics made significant contributions to protect individuals with disabilities from COVID-19. Ilka Riddle, PhD, and Kara Ayers, PhD, lead the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD), and it is Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities spearhead this work. Examples of the UCCEDD’s efforts include the creation of social stories and narratives about mask-wearing and social distancing for people with disabilities, development of plain language and alternative format documents regarding the importance of receiving a COVID-19 shot, work on health equity through the Ohio Medical Care Rationing Workgroup, providing technical assistance to local health departments on vaccine accessibility, and the creation of the COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Dashboard in partnership with Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center. This crucial work receives federal funding through the Administration for Community Living and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.
