Many of the systemic body differences that affect people with Down syndrome due to trisomy 21 have knock-on effects on speech development. The development of speech is affected by hearing, muscle tone, facial shape differences, and challenges with learning and memory.
Individuals with Downsyndromewill often have difficulty producing certain speech sounds, with some speech being difficult for others to understand. Children with Down syndrome commonly have delayed speech, language and communication skills in comparison to their typically developing peers.
Difficulties speaking clearly - Children with Down syndrome typically babble like other children. However, they do not move on to attempt to say words but tend to use more gestures for longer than other children with a similar level of understanding.
Speech production of individuals with Down syndrome may be related to differences in oral structure and function (Miller & Leddy, 1998; Stoel-Gammon, 1997). Structural differences include a small oral cavity with a relatively large tongue and a narrow, high arched palate.
Children with Down Syndrome commonly experience feeding, swallowing and speech difficulties due to anatomical and physiological differences in their mouth area. These differences include a high arched palate, small upper jaw as well as low muscle tone in the tongue and weak oral muscles.
People with Down syndrome can expect to live to 60
In the 1940s, a child with Down syndrome had a life expectancy of 12 years. These days, their life expectancy is 60 years and a baby born with Down syndrome could live into their 80s — in line with the general population.
Self-talking, or talking to yourself, is very common in children and adults with Down syndrome. This behavior often makes families worried. Try not to worry! Self-talking is normal and also serves a very useful purpose.
Many people with Down syndrome will make noises or do motor activities (e.g., arm movements) that appear to be self-stimulatory. These are called stereotypies (also known as self-stimulatory behavior). * They can include making sounds or doing repetitive movements or repetitively moving objects.
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 will not only sense your comforting presence, but they can also clearly hear you and observe the way you use words. Patience is also very necessary when communicating with persons with Down's Syndrome. They may take time to respond to your message or you may need to speak slower than you usually do.
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.
It is well known that the extra chromosome 21 originates from the mother in more than 90% of cases, the incidence increases with maternal age and there is a high recurrence in young women.
Down syndrome symptoms vary from person to person and can range from mild to severe. No matter how severe the condition is, people with Down syndrome have a widely-recognized appearance.
Psychotic symptoms have, however, been reported in hospitalized or clinic adult patients with Down syndrome and in older adults with dementia. For example, auditory hallucinations were reported in 45% of 22 adult patients with Down syndrome and depression [30], and Urv et al.
Behavioral problems such as stubbornness, impulsivity, and temper tantrums may be more common in children with Down syndrome. Many children talk out loud to themselves as a way of understanding and processing information. On the other hand, many children with Down syndrome have strong social skills.
Most individuals with Down syndrome have mild (IQ: 50–69) or moderate (IQ: 35–50) intellectual disability with some cases having severe (IQ: 20–35) difficulties. Those with mosaic Down syndrome typically have IQ scores 10–30 points higher than that.
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.
People with Down syndrome usually have an IQ (a measure of intelligence) in the mildly-to-moderately low range and are slower to speak than other children. Some common physical features of Down syndrome include: A flattened face, especially the bridge of the nose. Almond-shaped eyes that slant up.
This is because, according to a study by Down Syndrome Education International, it takes twice as much energy for people with Down syndrome to activate their vocal muscles and initiate voice as well as having voices described as “gruff and low-pitched”.
So, are Down syndrome and autism the same thing or the same disorder? No. They are distinct disorders with different causes that may show some similar symptoms, but also differences.
As adults with Down syndrome grow older, there is increased risk of experiencing certain common mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and behavioral disturbances. A sudden or abrupt change in mood or behavior patterns warrants further investigation.
People with Down syndrome often experience a gradual decline in thinking ability (cognition) as they age, usually starting around age 50. Down syndrome is also associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer disease, a brain disorder that results in a gradual loss of memory, judgment, and ability to function.
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.
What we see more commonly in people with Down syndrome is a complete lack of talking (in all settings) or whispering (this is not common in our patients but it is more common than selective mutism). This may be related to anxiety, depression, physical illness, and others.
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.