Creative Education, 2015, 6, 1285-1293 Published Online July 2015 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ce http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.612128 How to cite this paper: Correa, W., Minetto, M. F., Cappellaro-Kobren, R., & Cunha, J. M. (2015). Risk Factors for Develop- ment of Children with Down Syndrome in Brazil. Creative Education, 6, 1285-1293. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.612128 Risk Factors for Development of Children with Down Syndrome in Brazil Wesley Correa * , Maria de Fatima Minetto, Rafaeli Cappellaro-Kobren, Josafá Moreira Cunha School of Education, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil Email: *wesleycorrea.psicologo@gmail.com Received 13 May 2015; accepted 5 July 2015; published 8 July 2015 Copyright © 2015 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract The study of risk factors that affect the development of children with Down syndrome (DS) has been the main subject of several studies. In the Brazilian context, the development of instruments to identify such risks is still a challenge. The current study had the objective of examining the cha- racteristics of a diagnostic organizer instrument which detects risk factors for development. The study was conducted in a clinic that offers services to children with DS in a Public Hospital in Curi- tiba, Brazil—and 15 parents of children from 0 - 8 years with DS that use the ambulatory service were interviewed, while the children’s medical records were also consulted. With the use of the Organization Diagnostic for Early Intervention (ODAP (GAT, 2008)), current and past conditions of child development as well as risk factors were evaluated. The research provided an organization of diagnostic, identifying cumulative risks factors for child development with emphasis on biolog- ical and environmental factors, and revealed vulnerabilities. The study provided a comprehensive understanding about the influence of the risk factors to development, as well as informing the de- velopment of strategies for intervention to enhance protective factors and promote positive child development and higher quality in family and social relationships. Keywords Risk Factors, Child Development, Down Syndrome 1. Introduction The Ministry of Health in Brazil emphasizes attention on child development since the 80s, articulating actions and projects that not only provide the basic health care for the Brazilian population, but also offer special attention to * Corresponding author.