Comparing sensory processing in children with Down syndrome to a mental age matched sample of children with autism, other developmental disabilities, and typically developing children

•Children with Down syndrome display unique sensory characteristics.•Children with ASD exhibited more sensory features than TD, DS, and other IDDs.•Researchers and clinicians need to distinguish different clinical phenotypes.•Low correlation between caregiver-report and researcher observation measures.•Using report and direct measures improves our understanding of sensory features.