Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome is a congenital  condition and it causes developmental disability. It is classified with an extra chromosome which is the 21 chromosome and is often defined as a copy of this chromosome. This syndrome causes some very prominent facial features such as upturned eyes and flattened nasal bridge. People with this syndrome are know to have a short stature, wide hands with short fingers and a smaller head. The people with this syndrome are some times hard to understand when they speak. This syndrome is the most common of genetic conditions that you come across. The Mayo Clinic states that this syndrome causes mild to sever intellectual and development disabilities. This syndrome causes other health conditions such as heart and gastrointestinal disorders. These are the three forms of Down Syndrome from the Mayo Clinic Web page.

• Trisomy 21. About 95 percent of the time, Down syndrome is caused by trisomy 21 — the person has three copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual two copies, in all cells. This is caused by abnormal cell division during the development of the sperm cell or the egg cell.
• Mosaic Down syndrome. In this rare form of Down syndrome, a person has only some cells with an extra copy of chromosome 21. This mosaic of normal and abnormal cells is caused by abnormal cell division after fertilization.
• Translocation Down syndrome. Down syndrome can also occur when a portion of chromosome 21 becomes attached (translocated) onto another chromosome, before or at conception. These children have the usual two copies of chromosome 21, but they also have additional genetic material from chromosome 21 attached to another chromosome.

Some Risk Factors of having a child with Down Syndrome are a mother that is older than the average birthing age. One parent or the other has the translocation genetic trait to start with and the mother or father all ready having a child with Down Syndrome are all risk factors for having a child with Down Syndrome. People with Down Syndrome have a wide verity of health conditions such as heart defects, sleep apnea, gastrointestinal, immune disorders, obesity, spinal problems, dementia, leukemia, and other health conditions.

The life expectancy of someone with Down Syndrome is today is they can live well in to their 60s and longer. 

There is no preventative measures to take to keep from getting Down Syndrome. A genetic counselor can help you better understand, cope and prepare you to have a child with Down Syndrome.

 

People with Down Syndrome are very kind loving people and they love to help. They are generally happy as well. The best part about them is they try harder than anyone I know to make you smile. While I work with people with Down Syndrome I can tall you even if I have had the worst day ever I can go to work unhappy and leave with a smile on my face. They love to show affection as well hugging  is big with them.