In the January issue of the European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry journal, an article examined the education and employment trajectories in individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome from several European countries (Israel, Belgium, France, and Switzerland).

ESCAP had the opportunity to speak with the last author of the paper, Dr. Maude Schneider, who collaborated with a group from Israel to obtain data on education and academic achievements during childhood and adolescent years, and adult life focusing on employment, living situation and marriage.

Considering that 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is the most common microdeletion in humans very little is known about the syndrome. Maude explains in detail the characteristics of the syndrome, what they wanted to achieve from this study and what she would recommend to clinicians who are treating these individuals in order for the individual and their families to plan for their education and longer-term employment future perspectives.