Down Syndrome: Understanding and Awareness

Post date: Jul 31, 2017 10:02:59 AM

It’s often easier to tell people with Down syndrome. Unlike those with neurodevelopmental disorders, people with Down syndrome have physical characteristics specific to their condition. They experience delayed growth and have facial features due to the existence of a third copy of chromosome 21.

Image Source: ghr.nlm.nih.gov

Intellectually, young adults with Down syndrome have the capacity of someone less than half their age – an IQ of 50 (that of an 8-year-old). That’s on an average. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule.

Sometimes, it puzzles people because parents of those with Down syndrome are genetically normal (usually). The chromosomal disorder happens by chance. The chances of a child getting the extra chromosome increases as a mother ages. As of now, no causes (environmental or behavioral) have been found to contribute to the Down syndrome.

The earliest a parent can know if a child is affected by the disorder is during prenatal screening. There are other ways such as diagnostic testing (also during pregnancy) and after birth through observation and genetic testing. More often than not, if the prenatal screening shows a child with Down syndrome, the pregnancy is terminated.

There is no known cure for people with Down syndrome. And not only do diagnosed individuals experience intellectual disabilities, but they also have physical problems that shorten their life spans. What many parents do now is look for ways to improve their quality of life. But other than that, there is not much people can do, but study it further and hope for the best.

Image Source: downs-syndrome.org.uk

Seasoned neuroengineer Dr. Curtis Cripe leads the research and development department of NTL Group, which specializes in diagnosing and treating brain-based dysfunctions. Learn more about Dr. Cripe and his work here.