We have found that there is some variability so that some may be more sensitive than others, but still most people with Down syndrome have a heightened sensitivity to the emotions of others.
The most common mental health concerns in individuals with Down syndrome include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, oppositional behaviors, depression, and tic disorder.
People with Down syndrome can feel angry, sad, embarrassed or excited. In fact, rather than always being happy, people with Down syndrome are at higher risk of mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviour than the general population.
They often have mild to moderate intellectual disability and may have specific challenges with attention span, verbal memory, and expressive communication. Behavioral problems such as stubbornness, impulsivity, and temper tantrums may be more common in children with Down syndrome.
Many moms report that the most difficult part of being the parent of a child with Down syndrome is the diagnosis and the immediate aftermath. Moms report thoughts and emotions they never thought they would have. Most are not prepared for the onslaught of emotions, and the intensity shocks them.
Those with Down syndrome nearly always have physical and intellectual disabilities. As adults, their mental abilities are typically similar to those of an 8- or 9-year-old. At the same time, their emotional and social awareness is very high.
On the other hand, people with Down syndrome and intellectual disability have low IQ and relatively high EQ. The system uses speech recognition and detection to listen and understand the user.
In many children with Down syndrome, the muscles and ligaments that support the neck are weak and loose. This can potentially cause spinal cord compression, in which the small bones in the neck (vertebrae) press on the spinal cord. Compression may lead to reduced muscle coordination, numbness, and weakness.
It is a common birth defect, the most frequent and recognizable form of intellectual disabilities (ID), appearing in about one out of every 700 newborns. The average intelligence quotient (IQ) of children with DS is around 50, ranging between 30 and 70.
Most adults with Down syndrome are aware they have Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome live ordinary lives filled with extraordinary needs. You cannot have mild or severe Down syndrome. Either you have it or you do not.
An important study in the journal of mental health research in intellectual disabilities shows that children with Down syndrome demonstrate increased behavioral issues compared with their typical peers.
Characteristics of Down syndrome
Often students will have strong empathy with others, good social skills, good short-term memory and visual learning skills.
Adults with Down syndrome are at greater risk for social isolation, and the challenges of daily living can be daunting.
Students with DS cannot do this as well. They lack the language, the cognitive flexibility needed in verbal discourse and the larger world view to win many verbal arguments. So...they look stubborn.
Common conditions encountered in adults with DS include: AD, epilepsy, mood and behavioral disorders, visual and hearing impairment, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and autoimmune diseases, such as thyroiditis and celiac disease.
Many pregnancies in women with Down syndrome produce children both with normal and with trisomy 21, whereas males are infertile. However, Down syndrome males are not always infertile and this is not global. Here we reported a 36-year-old man with proved nonmosaic trisomy 21 fathered two normal boys.
Misconception: People who have Down syndrome cannot have children. Reality: It's true that a person with Down syndrome may have significant challenges in rearing a child. But women who have Down syndrome are fertile and can give birth to children.
Heart defects — Approximately half of all babies with Down syndrome are born with (often repairable) heart defects. Usually, these defects affect the walls separating the four chambers of the heart.
Previous research has found that mothers raising children with Down's syndrome report lower levels of parenting stress and symptoms of depression than mothers raising children with other diagnoses. This has sometimes been known as the 'Down's syndrome advantage.
Down Syndrome Learning Strengths
High capacity for empathy and social understanding. Strong visual short-term memory. Steady vocabulary acquisition. Age-appropriate self-help and daily living skills.
All people with Down's syndrome will have some degree of intellectual disability. Children with Down's syndrome do learn to walk, talk and be toilet trained but in general will meet these developmental milestones later than their non-disabled peers.
The answer is: Yes, a person with Down syndrome can get married and have children, and there are many successful experiences in marriage and childbearing in such category of people.
Kenny Cridge, the world's oldest living man with Down's Syndrome, celebrated his 76th birthday recently with family, friends and cake.