Part 1 Historical aspects: in the beginning, Brian Stratford; the historical context, A.D.B. Clarke and Ann M. Clarke. Part 2 Developments in the law: an overview of the law, Gordon Ashton. Part 3 Developments in medical research and treatment: epidemiology - incidence, prevalance and size of the Down Syndrome population, Jonathan Steele; medical aspects, Jacek Zaremba; the heart, K. Hallidie-Smith; auditory disorders, Bethan Davies; ocular findings in children, Christopher J. Hammond and Elisabeth A. Millis; oral halth, Merete Vigild; preventive medical care, Goran Anneren and Siegfried Pueschel. Part 4 Families: families and siblings - a response to recent research, Ann Gath and Jane McCarthy; family life in community context, Alan Hayes; siblings, Monica Cuskelly. Part 5 Developments in educational research and practice: developments in educational research and practice, Pat Gunn; precognitive and cognitive resource profiles - an abilities approach to biobehavioural remediation, David Gibson.