The following suggestions are based upon the input of many parents of children with Down syndrome. THINGS NOT TO SAY – These are the things that parents have said really upset or angered them: “I'm sorry” or any form of pity. Pity is not what new parents want or need.
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.
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.
Lots of love: How do your raise your child with Down syndrome? The same way you would raise any child: with love, patience, compassion, positive instruction — and adjustments that accommodate your child's special needs. Love them, play with them, encourage them, read to them and take them on social outings.
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.
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.
Children and adults with Down syndrome experience all the same emotions everyone experiences, both good and bad. They also experience mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and others.
Babies with Down's syndrome are like any newborn babies.
They'll be eating, sleeping, crying, and needing love and cuddles just like all babies. Some babies with Down's syndrome might need extra help. This could be with things like feeding.
Puzzles of all kinds work on so many great skills! There is a bit of a developmental sequence to puzzles that begins with large peg puzzles with underlying pictures and ends with jigsaw puzzles with many small pieces. Each will work on visual perception, visual motor integration and fine motor skills.
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.
In the majority of cases, the extra copy of chromosome 21 comes from the mother in the egg. In a small percentage (less than 5%) of cases, the extra copy of chromosome 21 comes from the father through the sperm.
About 95 percent of the time, Down syndrome is caused by trisomy 21 — the person has three copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual two copies, in all cells. This is caused by abnormal cell division during the development of the sperm cell or the egg cell.
Children with Down syndrome have a specific impairment in short-term memory for verbal information (i.e. the phonological loop) and this will make processing verbal information and, therefore, learning from listening, especially difficult for them.
Common behavior problems such as aggression, tantrums and "noncompliance" are not part of DS-ASD.
Behavior changes in adults with Down syndrome have many potential causes. Some individuals have difficulty with the transition into adulthood as they face the loss of social networks, departure of older siblings, death of loved ones, changes in housing, and the challenge of obtaining meaningful work.
Children with Down syndrome are often described as "stubborn" and "obstinate." In fact, references to challenging behavior have historically been seen in the clinical literature and continue to exist today.
Researchers know that Down syndrome is caused by an extra chromosome, but no one knows for sure why Down syndrome occurs or how many different factors play a role. One factor that increases the risk for having a baby with Down syndrome is the mother's age.
Adults with Down syndrome are at greater risk for social isolation, and the challenges of daily living can be daunting.
“We certainly see some kids who are less affected than others, but we shy away from terms like 'low-functioning' and 'high-functioning,'” Pipan explains. Some children with Down syndrome have a hard time learning to walk, and others have no problem running and jumping and riding a bike.
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.
Inheritance. Most cases of Down syndrome are not inherited. When the condition is caused by trisomy 21, the chromosomal abnormality occurs as a random event during the formation of reproductive cells in a parent. The abnormality usually occurs in egg cells, but it occasionally occurs in sperm cells.
Heart and lung diseases are the leading causes of death for persons with Down syndrome.
There are three types of Down syndrome: trisomy 21 (nondisjunction), translocation and mosaicism. Trisomy 21 (nondisjunction) accounts for 95% of known cases of Down syndrome.
Adults with Down syndrome often die at earlier ages than their peers in the general population. This data slice describes increased risk of death across different age groups from Dementia/Alzheimer's, Influenza/Pneumonia, and Pneumonitis for adults with Down syndrome.