Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41189050›Full record

SynthesisDevelopmental medicine and child neurology2026

Mainstream or special secondary school for the health, education, and well-being of adolescents with Down syndrome: A systematic review.

Julia Shumway, Jill Ellis, Bianca Lucia De Stavola, Ruth Gilbert, Ania Zylbersztejn

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Developmental medicine and child neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Julia ShumwayGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0009-0008-7451-5759
Jill EllisEast London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Bianca Lucia De StavolaGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Ruth GilbertGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Ania ZylbersztejnGreat Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.

Funding

Down's Syndrome Association DSA/PhD studentship at UCL GOS ICHNational Institutes of Health and Care Research GOSH Biomedical Research CentreNational Institutes of Health and Care Research PR-PRU-1217-21301National Institutes of Health and Care Research Senior Investigator Award
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimTo systematically examine evidence on the impact of attending mainstream compared with special secondary school for adolescents with Down syndrome, in terms of health, education, and well-being outcomes.

methodWe searched four bibliographic databases for studies comparing education and health (including social and self-care) outcomes in adolescents with Down syndrome who attended mainstream secondary school to those attending special secondary school.

resultsOf 4458 publications, we identified three studies from the UK and the Netherlands, which involved 246 adolescents with Down syndrome: 49 attended mainstream and 197 attended special secondary school. Of three studies examining education outcomes, two reported improved attainment among adolescents attending mainstream school, but both were at risk of bias from participant selection, missing data, and deviations to the intended intervention. One study reported social and self-care outcomes, with no significant differences. No studies reported health outcomes. Studies provided only cursory information about teaching support.

interpretationParents, policy-makers, and others who make choices about education for adolescents with Down syndrome lack evidence on whether outcomes differ, on average, between mainstream and special secondary schools. Well-designed studies are needed to quantify the impact of secondary school type on outcomes among adolescents with Down syndrome.

Indexed as

Down SyndromeEducation, SpecialMainstreaming, EducationSchoolsAdolescentHumans

Identifiers

PMID41189050
PMCPMC13160392

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.