The age range with which early intervention specialists work enables them both to witness and support the construction of the subjective self process in children with Down syndrome (SD). Viewing development as a dynamic process, this article looks at what conditions are necessary to help the baby/child grow into adult life and reviews the way in which the child's psychological life emerges from the parent-child relationship. Lastly, it considers aspects believed to be important in the emotional development of the child with Down syndrome (DS) on the basis of experiences in early intervention.