Down syndrome

I’m pretty sure everyone has seen or personally knows someone affected by Down’s syndrome.  It is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21^st chromosome.  The syndrome was discovered by John Langdon Down in 1866, a British physician.  The incidence of Down syndrome happens approximately once in every 733 births.  Although it does happen with younger parents, it is more frequent with older ones.  You can identify a person with Down’s by their cognitive ability, physical growths and different facial characteristics.  The normal IQ of a child is 100 while it is 50 for children with Down syndrome. 



Children affected by Down syndrome



To improve the development of Down syndrome children, it is important to have early childhood intervention, medical treatment, a conductive family environment and vocational training.  Before the birth of these children, it is impossible to predict the symptoms that an individual with Down’s will develop.  The physical characteristics of people with Down syndrome are different from ours...  They have a abnormally small chin, oblique eyes, poor muscle tone, flat nose, a single fold in their palm, a short neck, white spots on the iris, large space between their large and second toe, broad head and a round face. 

Their intellectual skills are a whole lot less developed than ours but most are still able to get a good job in the real world.  With the help of physical therapy, children with Down syndrome will develop walking at an earlier age than later.  Some kids may start walking at the age of 2 while others start around the age of 4. 

Adults affected by Down’s syndrome are smaller and tend to be more obese than an average person.  Women with Down’s are usually around 4 feet 9 inches and men tend to be about 5 feet 1 inch. 

Having a child with Down syndrome can be very difficult to handle by a family since they have higher risks for many conditions like congenital heart disease, thyroid disorders, gastrointestinal, infertility, neurology and eye disorders, hearing loss and immune deficiencies.  All of this can affect a family deeply.

I have always enjoyed working with deficient children and I’m glad I did my research on this particular syndrome.