Author: crnstudent

Down Syndrome

Resources

What is Down Syndrome? Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that includes a combination of birth defects, including some degree of mental retardation, characteristic facial features and, often, heart defects, visual and hearing impairment, and other health problems.
What causes Down syndrome? Normally in reproduction, the egg cell of the mother and the sperm cell of the father start out with the usual number of 46 chromosomes. The egg and sperm cells undergo cell division where the 46 chromosomes are divided in half and the egg and the sperm cells end up with 23 chromosomes each. When a sperm with 23 chromosomes fertilizes an egg with 23 chromosomes, the baby ends up with a complete set of 46 chromosomes, half from the father and half from the mother.

http://www.catholicnews.com/photos/09hp0245.jpg
Etsy.com
http://www.mylot.com/w/photokeywords/down+syndrome.aspx
http://www.medicinenet.com/down_syndrome/article.htm
Cdadc.com

etsy.com

etsy.com

Da’Shon Washington
January 24,2011
2nd Period

Trisomy 21 aka
Down Syndrome

Extra Info….

Adolescents with Down syndrome undergo the same hormonal changes during puberty as typically developing children. Girls with Down syndrome have regular menstrual periods and should receive instructions on hygiene. Although women with Down syndrome are not very fertile, they can become pregnant. Men with Down syndrome have low sperm count, but in some cases have fathered children.

About 50 percent of babies with Down syndrome have a congenital heart defect. Some defects are minor and may be treated with medications, while others may require surgery. All babies with Down syndrome should be examined by a pediatric cardiologist, a physician who specializes in heart diseases of children, and have an echocardiogram (a procedure that evaluates the structure and function of the heart by using sound waves recorded on an electronic sensor that produce a moving picture of the heart and heart valves) in the first two months of life, so that any heart defects can be treated.

What does a child with Down syndrome look like?
A child with Down syndrome may have eyes that slant upward and small ears that may fold over slightly at the top. Their mouth may be small, making the tongue appear large. Their nose also may be small, with a flattened nasal bridge. Some babies with Down syndrome have short necks and small hands with short fingers. Rather than having three "creases" in the palm of the hand, a child with Down syndrome usually has one single crease that goes straight across the palm, and a second crease that curves down by the thumb. The child or adult with Down syndrome is often short and has unusual looseness of the joints. Most children with Down syndrome will have some, but not all, of these features.