Some people with Down's syndrome will experience a delayed response to grief; this can be up to six months or more after their loss. It may be that some people with Down's syndrome struggle, and therefore take longer, to understand the finality of death and their own thoughts and feelings.
As children grow and develop, they'll understand their loss in new ways. The way they feel and grieve will probably change too. Violent or traumatic deaths – for example, a car accident or suicide – or witnessing the death can deeply affect children and families.
Pulmonary infectious disease is the leading cause of mortality in Down syndrome, caused by both intrinsic (morphological factors) and extrinsic (immune dysfunction) factors. Listed in each organ cartoon are genes implicated in disturbed heart, lung and immune function.
1. Today the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome is approximately 60 years. As recently as 1983, the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome was 25 years. The dramatic increase to 60 years is largely due to the end of the inhumane practice of institutionalizing people with Down syndrome.
Individuals with Down syndrome also show impaired explicit long-term memory for verbal information, and may also have particular problems in explicit long-term memory for visual-object associations.
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.
Abstract. Down syndrome is the most common autosomal chromosome anomaly with several medical abnormalities and intellectual disability, occurring in about of 1:1,000 to 1:1,100 infants. Many pregnancies in women with Down syndrome produce children both with normal and with trisomy 21, whereas males are infertile.
Although women older than 35 years of age make up a small portion of all births6 in the United States each year, about nearly one-half of babies with Down syndrome are born to women in this age group.
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.
Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels. The risk increases with the mother's age (1 in 1250 for a 25 year old mother to 1 in 1000 at age 31, 1 in 400 at age 35, and about 1 in 100 at age 40). However, 80% of babies with Down syndrome are born to women under age 35 years.
Almost one-half of babies with Down syndrome have congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common type of birth defect. CHD can lead to high blood pressure in the lungs, an inability of the heart to effectively and efficiently pump blood, and cyanosis (blue-tinted skin caused by reduced oxygen in the blood).
Bert Holbrook
However, he is the oldest man to have ever lived with Down Syndrome. Holbrook was a citizen of the United States and a Minnesotan, and passed away in 2014 from natural causes.
Pain can usually be well controlled at the end of life. If, however, the person is experiencing a lot of pain, avoid having children visit until the pain is under control. Due to the changes happening within the bodies of people who are dying, they may become confused and/or agitated.
The few studies that have compared responses to different types of losses have found that the loss of a child is followed by a more intense grief than the death of a spouse or a parent [5].
Death is often explained to this age group as "went to heaven." Most children in this age group don't understand that death is permanent, that everyone and every living thing will eventually die, and that dead things don't eat, sleep, or breathe. Death should not be explained as "sleep."
A recent study suggests that a 20-year-old father doubles the chance of Down syndrome as compared to one who's 40.
During 2014-2018 (average) in Tennessee, was highest for Hispanic infants (22.8 in 10,000 live births), followed by Asians (15.1 in 10,000 live births), Whites (13.8 in 10,000 live births) and blacks (10.8 in 10,000 live births).
In almost all cases, Down's syndrome does not run in families. Your chance of having a baby with Down's syndrome increases as you get older, but anyone can have a baby with Down's syndrome. Speak to a GP if you want to find out more.
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.
Why do people with Down syndrome look the same? They have similar features due to extra genetic material that affects growth of the maxilla (part of the skull) and the bone, cartilage, and connective tissue in the head, known as the cranial neural crest.
Keep a routine
Children with Down's Syndrome often have difficulty receiving and remembering verbal instructions. Sticking with a system and talking them through in short statements of direction can greatly reduce negative behavior. Visual schedules are also recommended.
Children with Ds have trouble controlling their impulses. If they see something interesting they may just go for it. This can be a potential disaster because they are not going to consider the possible danger in doing so. My daughter is a bolter, and she does it for the entertainment of reaction.
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.
Some of the common medical issues as outlined by the Guidelines for Adults with Down Syndrome include “congenital cardiac and gastrointestinal anomalies, autoimmune conditions, diverse leukemias, respiratory infections, sleep disorders, hearing and vision loss and early development of Alzheimer's-type dementia.”