Cognitive and behavioural development of Israeli males with fragile X and Down Syndrome

Hebrew translations of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS) were administered to 17 I sraeli males with fragile X and 17 with Down syndrome matched for chronolog ical and mental ages. When baselines were considered, the pattern of findin gs was generally consistent with previous reports. On the K-ABC, the males with fragile X scored higher on some subtests of the Simultaneous Domain bu t not on any of those of the Sequential Domain. On the VABS, superior score s of the males with fragile X on the Daily Living Skills and Communication domains is consistent with prior evidence of their relative strength on the former and the specific weakness of persons with Down syndrome on the latt er. These differences between the males with fragile X and Down syndrome wi th regard to functioning on various domains and subdomains highlight the ne ed to carefully examine the profiles of aetiologically homogeneous groups o f persons.