DOWN SYNDROME

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DOWN SYNDROME
By Lori Marcotte
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Definition of Down Syndrome, according to
encyclopedia.com

• Down syndrome is a congenital disorder
  characterized by mild to severe mental
  retardation, slow physical development, and
  characteristic physical features.

Source www.encyclopedia.com
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Physical Characteristics

• Flat facial features
• Eyes slant upwards
• Low muscle tone
• Joints are able to hyper flex
• Dysphasic middle phalanx of the fifth finger
• Palm has a small crease

Source www.encyclopedia.com
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Three Chromosomal Patterns that result in Down
Syndrome

• Trisomy 21 This is when a baby has three
  chromosome 21 because they did not divide
  correctly
• Translocation This occurs during cell division
  when a piece of a 21 chromosome breaks off and
  attaches to another chromosome

Source www.nads.org
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Three Chromosomal Patterns that result in Down
Syndrome

• Mosaicism This occurs during cell division
  right after fertilization, some of the 21
  chromosomes do divide correctly and some do not.
  Therefore, some of the cells have 46 chromosomes
  (the correct number) and some cells have 47
  chromosomes.

Source www.nads.org
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Other Health Problems That Might Affect A Child
With Down Syndrome

• Heart Problems
• Structural Problems of the Intestines
• Damage to hearing or vision
• Leukemia
• Problems of the thyroid
• Ear Infections and many cold, bronchitis and
  pneumonia

Source www.marchofdimes.com
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Is Down Syndrome Preventable or Is there a Cure?
As of right now, the chromosomal accident that
occurs with Down syndrome is not preventable, nor
can it be cured. Recent studies indicate that
some women who have had a baby with Down syndrome
had an abnormality in how their bodies metabolize
the B vitamin Folic Acid.
Source www.marchofdines.com
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Children with Down syndrome are more like
children their own age than they are different.
There are many degrees of impairment for Down
syndrome usually on a spectrum between mild and
moderate. A child born with Down syndrome should
be given physical, speech and developmental
therapies starting shortly after birth.
Source www.nads.org
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Pre-natal Diagnosis

• Screening Tests takes certain factors into
  consideration and estimates the chances of having
  a child with Down Syndrome.
• There are two types of screen tests the triple
  screen and the sonogram. The triple screen is
  three tests that measure substances in the blood.
  A sonogram will show a picture of the baby on the
  screen, so the doctor can look for physical
  characteristics.

Source www.nads.org
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Pre-natal Diagnosis

• Diagnostic Tests Examines the facts to find out
  if the baby will be born with Down syndrome.
• There are three types of diagnostic tests
  amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling (CVS),
  and percutaneous umbilical blood sampling (PUBS).

Source www.nads.org
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Teaching Children With Down Syndrome
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Stages A Program To Teach Special Needs Children
Using Computers To Assist

• The purpose of stages is to help parents and
  professionals select appropriate software for
  children with special needs and provides a
  framework for alternative assessment through an
  organized developmental sequence.

Source www.ndss.org
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Stage One Cause and Effect
This stage works on having the child use the
computer and become familiar with its controls.
The student will click or push a button (cause)
and then find out what the results were (effect).
This is a stage of discovery.
Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Two Language Readiness
In this stage, the student becomes a sponge and
absorbs the information. This stage is designed
to inform the student that objects have names and
actions have words.
Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Three Emerging Language
In this stage, the learner will be asked to make
a selection or respond to a question that
identifies objects and categorizes the objects to
demonstrate an understanding of language.
Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Four Early Concepts

• Stage four focuses on traditional readiness
  skills, including academic work on colors,
  numbers, shapes, letters, patterns, and sounds.

Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Four Early Concepts
Reading Skills learned at Stage Four

• Sounds of letters
• Sequencing
• Rhyming
• Retelling stories
• Matching pictures to their letter sounds
• Letter recognition

Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Four Early Concepts

• Counting
• Patterns
• On-to-one correspondence
• Math vocabulary concepts
• Number recognition

Math Skills learned in Stage Four
Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Five Advanced Concepts and Communication

• Math skills grow into solving harder types of
  problems
• Spelling skills grow from basic to literacy
• This stage takes time
• The only academic area that is not covered in
  stage five is writing

Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Six Functional Learning

• In this stage, the student learns about the world
  around them and how to take care of themselves in
  this world.
• This is referred to as activities of daily
  learning (ADL).
• One example of a topic covered in this stage is
  money.

Source www.ndss.org
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Stage Seven Written Expression

• In this stage, the students learns about writing.
  
• This stage emphasizes multi-sensory learning
  (reading, hearing, writing)
• This stage also works on correcting the students
  writing errors. There are many programs available
  that will accomplish that.

Source www.ndss.org
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Inclusion
Over 20 years of research and experience have
demonstrated that the education of children with
disabilities can be made more effective by
Source www.ndss.org
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• The general education curriculum should be
  accessible to all children equally to the maximum
  extent possible and teachers should have high
  expectations for all students
• The parents of all children should participate in
  the education of their child. There should be a
  bond between both the teacher and the student and
  the teacher and the parents.

Source www.ndss.org
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• Whenever possible, provide the student with
  support from the special education teachers and
  have associates to work with the student in the
  regular classroom.
• Teachers need professional development training
  when working with students with disabilities

Source www.ndss.org
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Successful Inclusion Strategies

• 1. Visionary Leadership at All Levels In
  order for inclusion to be successful, everyone
  involved must be in consensus and keep the vision
  clear.
• 2. Educator Collaboration
• - planning time for the building
• - time for teachers to work together to interact
  with each other
• - Using teachers problem-solving skills

Source www.ndss.org
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• Refocused Use of Assessment the focus of
  assessment should be the student
• Support for Students and Staff services
  should be in the classroom, rather than taking
  the student out of the classroom for services

Source www.ndss.org
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• Effective Parental Involvement Includes
  family-support services, collaboration with the
  parents and keeping open lines of communication
• Collaborative Teaching Models include
  co-teaching methods, parallel teaching methods,
  consultation, teaming, and dually licensed

Source www.ndss.org
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• 7. General Education Best Practice Methods
  used in teaching special education students are
  also used to benefit a regular education student
• 8. Funding The special education laws require
  that money must follow the student into whatever
  placement is least restrictive

Source www.ndss.org
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Places To Get More Information About Down
Syndrome

• National Down Syndrome Society
• 666 Broadway
• New York, NY 10012
• [phone]
• www.ndss.org
• National Down Syndrome Congress
• 7000 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, N.E.
• Building 5, Suite 100
• Atlanta, GA 30328
• (800) 232-NDSC

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References

• Encyclopedia http//www.encyclopedia.com
• March of Dimes http//www.marchofdimes.com/profes
  sionals/681_1214.asp
• National Down Syndrome Society
  http//www.nads.org/pages/facts.htm
• Inclusion Brochure / National Down Syndrome
  Society http//www.ndss.org/ndssmedia/pdf/inclusi
  on.pdf
• School Talk Language Skills for Inclusion in
  Elementary School / National Down Syndrome
  Society
• http//www.ndss.org/content.cfm?fuseactionInfoRes
  .SchEduarticlearticle221
• Stages A Framework for Alternative Assessment /
  National Down Syndrome Society
• http//www.ndss.org/content.cfm?fuseactionInfoRes
  .SchEduarticlearticle219
• Nationwide Study Finds Inclusive Education
  Rewarding for All Involved / National Down
  Syndrome Society
• http//www.ndss.org/content.cfm?fuseactionInfoRes
  .SchEduarticlearticle166