ABSTRACT
In response to a request by the local parent group, a clinic was developed to provide for the medical and psychosocial needs of adults with Down syndrome. One of the concerns of the parents was that their sons and daughters were not receiving an adequate evaluation when they had a decline in function and were being given a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease based on a presumption that all persons with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer's disease. The thorough evaluation that each patient receives at the clinic is described. The majority of the adults seen showed no decline in function. Of those that showed a decline in function, a small percentage were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, but most of those with a decline had a potentially reversible problem and, with treatment, most returned to their premorbid level of function.
