Down syndrome

Down syndrome (or trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder. Most people with Down Syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21, or part of it.

Down syndrome causes a mental handicap. It may be mild or severe. The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental age of an 8- or 9-year-old child, but it truly depends on the person.^[1][2][3] This can vary widely, but most individuals need supervision if they are to live their lives in a satisfactory way. Children who have this condition take more time to learn new things.

The condition is named after John Langdon Down, the British doctor who first described it in 1866. He called it mongoloid idiocy because he thought that children with Down syndrome had faces like that of Blumenbach's Mongolian race (a historical categorization now "East Asian"). The term "mongoloid idiocy" is not used today; it is considered an offensive term.

There is discrimination against people with Down syndrome, both in the education system and in society in general.^[4] Some people with the condition may have average intelligence but may also have other noticeable features of the disability. For example, people with Down syndrome often have a different shape of eyes than those without the syndrome. Some people with the condition have severe learning difficulties.

Of every 800 to 1000 babies that are born, one is diagnosed with Down syndrome. Older women have a higher chance of having a baby with Down syndrome.^[5] If they have a procedure known as amniocentesis, pregnant mothers can be told whether their foetus has Down syndrome. Sound scans may also diagnose the presence of Down Syndrome. Mothers whose foetus is diagnosed as having Downs syndrome may choose to have an abortion. In the United Kingdom and Europe 92% of such cases are aborted.^[6]

There are several options for care of individuals with Down syndrome as they grow older; many individuals are able to live independently or with the support of a PCA.

1. ↑ Malt E.A. et al 2013. Health in adults with Down syndrome". Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeformning : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny raekke 133 (3): 290–4. [1]
2. ↑ Weijerman M.E. & de Winter J.P. 2010. Clinical practice. The care of children with Down syndrome". European journal of pediatrics 169 (12): 1445–52. [2]
3. ↑ Reilly C. 2012 (2012). "Behavioural phenotypes and special educational needs: is aetiology important in the classroom?". Journal of Intellectual Disability Research : JIDR. 56 (10): 929–46. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2012.01542.x. ISSN 0964-2633. PMID 22471356.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. ↑ "Fox News". Fox News.
5. ↑ Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health, 3rd ed., Detroit: Gale, 2013, pp. 1117-1122.
6. ↑ Mansfield, C.; Hopfer, S.; Marteau, T. M. (1 September 1999). "Termination rates after prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, spina bifida, anencephaly, and Turner and Klinefelter syndromes: a systematic literature review. European Concerted Action: DADA (Decision-making After the Diagnosis of a fetal Abnormality)". Prenatal Diagnosis. 19 (9): 808–812. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0223(199909)19:9<808::AID-PD637>3.0.CO;2-B. PMID 10521836. S2CID 29637272 – via PubMed.