CONCLUSION
The primary goal of the current study was to examine the role of ecological constraints (task and contextual complexity) on the object retrieval skills of young children with DS. The results indicated that children with DS perform poorly compared to mental-age matched TD children when contextual (retrieving toy from an opaque box) and task + contextual complexity (retrieving toy from a transparent box within an opaque box) is introduced. The poor performance of the DS population was related to poor bimanual hand use, poor executive skills, and slower processing/movement speeds. Given that object retrieval is a critical development skill, future studies are needed for an in-depth examination of the development and specificity of means-ends exploratory behaviors in children with DS. This will not only improve our understanding of the disorder but will also help clarify the treatment targets and goals for children with DS.