1 Percent Of Children With Down Syndrome example essay topic

Down syndrome Down syndrome takes its name from Dr. Langdon Down. He was the first person to describe the syndrome in 1866. The earliest recorded incident of someone having Down syndrome dates back to an altar piece painted in a church in Aachen, Germany in 1504. Although the syndrome is named after Dr Langdon Down, he did not understand the condition, as we know it today.

The syndrome was referred to as having mongolism. This was because people who have Down syndrome have similar physical characteristics to those people of oriental heritage. The diagnosis of the syndrome can be made shortly after birth. Most parents who find out their child has it have conflicting emotions. These can include shock, feelings of disbelief, feelings of sorrow, guilt and feelings of embarrassment. In the past, most babies who had Down syndrome were put into an institution.

Today the trend is to keep the child at home and have the child became a functioning member of society. Having a handicapped child can cause great stress. There is also a problem of explaining the condition to the other siblings. Down syndrome should not be explained to the other siblings as an illness.

They should be told the child has a handicap. Parents should also be careful not to spend all their time with the child that has Down syndrome and spend equal time with all their children. Other relatives and friends should be told as soon as possible. It will normally make other people uncomfortable.

They may not understand what the parent is feeling and say inappropriate things. Down syndrome is one of the most common chromo mal defects. It occurs in about 1 out of 800 births. The probability of having a child with Down syndrome increases with the mother's age. The rate for women in their twenties is about 1 in 2000 births. This number increases dramatically for a women in her forties to about 1 in 100.

The cause of Down syndrome is an extra chromosome. In 95 percent of the cases, the child has three instead of two chromosomes on the 21 chromosome. There is a test called amniocentesis that can tell the mother if her child will have Down syndrome. Amniocentesis involves inserting a needle into the amniotic sac to withdraw a small about of the amniotic fluid. The cells in the fluid are then analyzed to see if the child has Down syndrome. There is small risk of a miscarriage or infection to the uterus.

Women over the age of thirty-five are encouraged to take the test. Down syndrome is the most prevalent chromosomal disorder. There are slightly more boys born with the syndrome than girls. It is also seen in all ethnic groups. In most cases, the doctor will be able to recognize if the child has Down syndrome right after birth. They are mostly able to tell by the child's.

There are certain features that some, but not all Down syndrome children have. 1. The child with Down syndrome usually has a rounded face. 2.

The back of the head is slightly flattened. 3. The eyes of nearly all children and adults with the syndrome slant slightly upwards. There is also a small fold of skin that runs between the inner corner of the eye and the nose. 4. The mouth is smaller than average and the tongue is larger.

5. The hands tend to be board with short fingers. The little finger sometimes has only one joint instead of two. 6.

The feet tend to be stubby and have a wide gap between the first and second toes. 7. Children with Down syndrome usually weigh less than average at birth. They are normally shorter than other children and tend to be overweight. 8. They have flabby muscle tone and poor coordination due to less control over the motor nerves.

9. About one third of children born with Down syndrome will be having a heart abnormality. The most common being atrioventricular septal defect. This is when there is a hole between the two atria. About one in six children will have this abnormality. 10.

Children also have vision problems such as crossed eyes and near or farsightedness. 11. There is also a problem of the child having hearing loss that can result in speech problems. 12. In children with Downs, there is a high rate of Leukemia. Although all children with Down syndrome have the extra portion of chromosome 21 in their cells, there are three forms of the syndrome.

The vast majority with Down syndrome about 95 percent have Trisomy 21. It results from one of the parents giving two number 21 chromosomes, rather than one. In about 4 percent of the cases, there is translocation. This is due to an extra part, rather than the whole chromosome 21. Children with translocation normally do not have such severe Downs as do children with Trisomy 21. The third kind of Downs syndrome is called Mosaicism.

This occurs in about 1 percent of children with Down syndrome. With Mosaicism, there is an extra whole chromosome 21 in only a proportion of their body cells. Children with Mosaicism have less severe forms of Down syndrome. There are certain behaviors that a child with Down syndrome seen to exhibit.

The child can have destructive behavior, they may break a toy they find too complicated and therefore frustrating. They also tend to wander off. The parent of a child with Down syndrome should make sure the child has a bracelet with his name, address, and telephone number in case the child wanders off. Because the child has a smaller than average mouth and a larger than average tongue they often have a problem of sticking out his or her tongue.

Children with Downs also tend to be more hyperactive than other children. At one time, most children with Down syndrome did not live past childhood. Many would often become sick from infection. Others would die from their heart problems they had at birth.

Today, most of these health problems can be treated and most children with Down syndrome grow into adulthood. There are now medicines that can take care of the infections and surgery that can correct heart, stomach, and intestinal problems. Someone with the syndrome can now live into middle age and older. Shortly after a diagnosis of Down syndrome is confirmed, parents should enroll their child in a development program.

These programs teach parents the special skills they will need in having a child with Downs. Research has shown that mental stimulation during his early development will help the child reach his full potential later in life. These are a wide variation in people with Downs. The following terms show how the IQ scores define retardation. 1. Mild IQ range from 50 to 702.

Moderate IQ range from 35 to 703. Severe IQ range from 20 to 354. Profound IQ range from 0 to 20 Last summer I worked for an independent living center in Little Rock. We had two men and one woman who had Downs. They were probably three of the happiest people I have ever met.

They seemed to enjoy life in a way that other people cannot. They were so grateful for the attention that you showed them. Just like anyone else, they had their good days and bad days. The clients that had Downs were always the first ones on the dance floor when they had parties and they always had a smile on their face. In the last twenty years, there has been a push to get mental retarded people into the mainstream of society. Most adults with Downs syndrome will need some help daily activities.

Independent living centers has replaced large institutions. These living centers usually have about four to twelve clients living there, the center I worked at had two houses and there were ten people in each house. They worked at a company putting wicks in candles and really enjoyed their job. They were responsible for cleaning their rooms and bathrooms. They also had different chores to do around the house such as mopping the floor and helping with dinner. Every night there were activities planned such as watching movies or doing arts and crafts.

It was a great experience working with the clients. That is one of the main reason I decided to go back to school and pursue a degree in social work.