Children with Down Syndrome: Causes and Signs, Possible Level of Education

Although the number of chromosomes in a living organism is usually directly proportional to the level of its development, in humans, an extra chromosome can cause a number of problems. A newborn with 47 chromosomes needs to be surrounded with a special attitude, since the risk of developing pathologies in his body, including those with Down syndrome, is very likely. And yet this does not mean that a child with this diagnosis is completely lost to society.

It would be more correct to say that this incurable disease is a serious challenge for the parents and the baby himself, but those who stand will be rewarded

Doctors consider it necessary to determine the presence of Down syndrome even at the stage of gestation - this will allow the mother to morally prepare for the fact that her child will be unusual or refuse to give birth at all. There are a number of invasive (penetrating) techniques that allow you to count the number of chromosomes in the baby's DNA even in the early stages of gestation — for this purpose, a cord analysis is taken from the umbilical cord, a biopsy is taken, non-invasive methods can be used as alternatives - a special ultrasound (screening) or isolation of the baby's DNA from the mother’s blood.

Invasive techniques show high accuracy of the result and are mandatory for women who have a predisposition to this disease, and are also recommended for pregnant women under 30 years of age.

This disease is a gene mutation, but even such complex phenomena must have their own causes. The reasons for the birth of a particular child are not precisely established - only groups of people are identified from whom such children are born more often. Accordingly, even the presence of all the reasons described - not a guarantee, but only an increased risk of having a baby with impairedbecause the specificity of gene mutations is still not fully understood.

In general, experts point to such factors that allegedly increase the likelihood of having a down birth:

• Late age of conception. First of all, it is more difficult for a mother to give normal offspring with age - it is believed that after 35 years of age, gene mutation in a woman in labor becomes much more likely. However, men should not relax, just “threshold” for them is a little higher - it is 45 years old. In general, experts point to such factors that allegedly increase the likelihood of having a down birth.

• Heredity. This moment is even more confused, because even the ideal heredity does not guarantee anything - Down can be born in a family where the parents are young and completely healthy, and none of the relatives have ever been sick of this syndrome. Moreover, a completely opposite situation is possible, when two children-downs can be born healthy children - there is no direct mutation transmission here; however, it is necessary to take into account that a sick boy is usually sterile from childhood, though not always.

• Incest. Human reproduction, requiring the obligatory participation of two people, is organized precisely so that the child receives different genes and is adapted to more factors of the external world. During sexual contacts between close relatives, the sets of genes obtained from both parents are very similar, therefore the mutation mechanism is activated, trying to “invent” adaptability to more external stimuli. The result in most cases are serious violations - in particular, Down syndrome.

• Increased solar activity. It is believed that the formation of the disease can also be influenced by the cosmic cause, which can be countered only in one way - carefully checking the solar activity forecasts when planning for conception. This theory requires extensive comprehensive confirmation, and yet is recognized as scientific. She is one of the reasons why downs are called "sunny" children.

Children with Down syndrome are very similar to each other due to the similarity of the gene code, but still do not look the same, because everyone also looks like their parents. At the same time, they differ from parents of young patients. Some signs that adults may not have at all, for example:

• Very flat face and strongly flat nose.
• A slightly sloping eye incision and a small skin fold near the inner corner of the eye In combination with the previous sign is obtained appearance, vaguely reminiscent of the Mongoloid.

• The skull appears shortened, the back of the head is sloping and flat. Various anomalies are often noted in the structure of the external ear.
• The mouth is usually quite small compared to the tongue, so these children often stick out their tongues, or, what is generally characteristic, almost always keep their mouths slightly open.
• Muscles are characterized by weakened tone, and the joints fix the position less reliably.
• On the inside of the palm, there may be a transverse fold, often there is an anomaly of the little finger in the form of unnatural curvature.

If an unusual appearance has little effect on normal vital activity, then another problem is the internal pathologies that regularly accompany Down syndrome. Nowhere is it indicated how many years the "sunny" children live, because their lifespan largely depends on the degree of development of such comorbidities.

In general, the life expectancy of downs is comparable to the life expectancy of healthy people with similar pathologies diagnosed, namely:

• Congenital heart disease (characteristic of 2/5 downs).
• Violations of internal secretion.
• Pathology of the skeleton - both serious (absence of one pair of ribs, deformation of the chest or pelvis), and simply noticeable (low growth).
• Pathologies of respiration caused by the disturbed structure of the nasopharynx and other upper respiratory tract.

• Improper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, impaired fermentation.
• Violations of the senses - reduced hearing ability, pathology of vision (glaucoma, strabismus, cataracts).

However, not all features of children with Down syndrome are necessarily bad. For example, they are also called “sunny” children for beautiful, especially shining eyes, as well as for the amazing sincerity of a smile.

Since Down syndrome is a gene pathology, modern science is still very far from learning how to correct it. Nevertheless, techniques have been developed to successfully resist various manifestations of the disease, bringing the condition of a sick child to a normal healthy state.

Since the diagnosis can be made even during pregnancy, it is important to carry out a thorough diagnosis for the accompanying disorders described above in infancy. With constant supervision of specialists and properly built course of medication Differences from a healthy baby will not be so obvious.

The important point is the slow development of the child - both mental and physical. The lag from normal children by months is noticeable already in infancy, because a child-down can keep his head only at the age of about three months.

However, these terms are indicated for those children who, despite the syndrome, were raised the same way as normal ones. If the diagnosis was made in a timely manner, specially created programs will significantly speed up the process.

The task of achieving a decent level of development in a child with Down syndrome does not look impossible, just an effort will have to be made a little more. Of course, it’s worth starting with exercises aimed at developing fine motor skills, because this is progress not only for muscles, but also for the brain. Massage is also considered a very effective way to improve the physical shape of a sick child.

Learning literally everything is somewhat more complicated than that of other babies, so parents will have to put more effort into teaching the child to speak.

Very important overcome the psychological barrierthat may occur in a child when he realizes that he is different from other children. If any speech disturbance is observed, it should be eliminated as soon as possible - it will be easier to establish normal communication in kindergarten. Elementary self-service skills will help the child not to depend on the help of others, which will also contribute to increasing self-confidence.

For children with Down syndrome, the path to big-time sports is almost cut off - they are characterized by poor physical development, and generally weigh a little. Wherein physical education for them almost more important than for healthy children, as this is the only way to strengthen a weakened body.

In general, health problems have a pronounced external manifestation, because the popular symptoms of the syndrome are extremely weak skin pigmentation, an abundance of rash, excessive dryness and roughness of the skin, a tendency to cracking in the cold.

Perhaps, the heart and the circulatory system as a whole are most often affected by developmental pathologies. Heart disease is noted in almost half of all those suffering from Down syndrome, in the heart rhythm there are noises, the characteristic phenomenon is impaired valve performance.

The lungs are usually formed correctly, abnormalities are relatively rare and superficial. At the same time, due to the pathologies of the neighboring heart, increased blood pressure is recorded in the lungs of the downs. Scientists also believe that the disease provides increased susceptibility to pneumonia.

Weak muscle tone is especially noticeable on the abdomen - it bulges visibly compared to the rib cagethat might be a normal variant for people of middle and older age, but it looks rather strange in baby. Often the feature is complemented by another umbilical hernia, but worry about it is not worth it - it eventually passes by itself.

The rest of the internal organs are almost unchanged under the influence of 47 chromosomes, except that the genitals may differ slightly smaller than other children of the same age and build; boys are usually barren.

Feet and hands - slightly irregular in shape, appear shortened and extended.The hands are well marked pathology of the little finger, bent forward (if you fold your hands at the seams), the thumb on the legs is even more isolated than in healthy children. The lines on the palms are traced particularly clearly, there is also a skin fold that is uncharacteristic for most people.

Uncoordinated movements are typical for downs - one gets the impression that they do not have a good control of their body, and so it, by the way, is. Since the musculoskeletal system is weakened, the likelihood of injury increases.

The described violations are very common among children with this disease, but they do not necessarily have a pronounced character. Separate items may not appear at all or be superficial, do not interfere with life.

Although many ordinary people tend to draw parallels between Down syndrome and mental retardation, experts point to the completely different nature of these phenomena. Downs have a problem that lies in their inability to cover a broad perspective and focus attention, but they are able to devote considerable efforts to solving one small, but very complex problem.

Although their level of education is usually criticized because of such absent-mindedness and detachment, there are cases when famous scientists in the field of mathematics grew out of a “solar” child.

Kids with this ailment seem indifferent to what is happening around them. In infancy, already three months after birth, a healthy child begins to recognize the mother and rejoices in it, frightened by the rest, but it seems that Down doesn’t care who calls him, touches him or even takes him in his arms. In the future, the child does not show interest in communication - he hears the appeal, but can not concentrate on the answer, so he usually does not respond.

Wherein intellectual development stops at the age of about sevent - unless, of course, contribute to the further development of the little patient. By this time, he usually already speaks, but knows not too many words. The patient does not receive much attention, his memory works rather poorly.

Although concentration and attention are generally weakened, there are things that literally fascinate children with Down syndrome. These include, in particular, free-jumping balls, although a sick child, unlike a healthy one, does not show any excitement or desire to play himself. Generally, babies with this diagnosis tend to focus their attention on what does not require any reaction from them.

Psychodiagnostics shows that the key problem of the disease is the lack of personality formation. If the child feels comfortable, his behavior can be perceived as a very large oddity, which nevertheless does not interfere with normal communication and other forms of human interaction.

Although many parents are afraid of the moment when an unusual child will have to be sent to kindergarten, this step is necessary, since only here children will be able to get the necessary interaction skills in society. Socialization is allowed in the most ordinary preschool child care facility, but on condition that tutors will be aware of the features of the baby and will be able to educate him on the relevant programs.

In particular, to strengthen the musculoskeletal system active games are neededwhich also stimulate communication and development of higher nervous activity. In this case, the baby is more awkward than healthy children, and is prone to injury, which must be taken into account by teachers. Alternatively, physiotherapy can help.

To improve the auditory sensitivity is used music games and lessonsthat also develops personality and motor activity. Since speech disorders are common, the presence of a qualified speech therapist in a preschool institution is mandatory.

Full education of the individual is impossible without a properly constructed psychology. Children with Down syndrome are stimulated to interact with those around them in literally everything — even toys here often presuppose joint use, rather than individual use.

A child with Down syndrome may well study in an ordinary school - the qualification level of education in such children usually implies the completion of an educational institution of this type. It is noted that preliminary training in kindergarten helps this child to get used to the new conditions, but here it is extremely important to show maximum understanding from the side of teachers and classmates.

With this baby most likely will learn much worsethan most of his comrades. Daunu does not sit still, he does not know how to react quickly and focus attention, he does not remember the information very well.

People creating a training program for such a child will have to solve a number of difficulties:

• Motility is underdeveloped, so complex, especially small and precise movements will have to be completely eliminated or at least made so that they do not affect the estimates.
• Down often has certain problems with vision and hearing, so some of the visual and aural information may be inaccessible to him, even with all desires. Nevertheless, the huge role of visual teaching methods is noted - not being able to imagine well and “catch on the fly”, the “sunny” child perceives well what he saw in action.

• Problems with speech have deep mental implications, that is, the child cannot formulate his thought not only out loud, but even in his head. To think something, he thinks, but, in a sense, he has a poor command of his native language, so he cannot be judged by his ability to express thoughts both orally and in writing. Because of this, it is quite difficult to objectively assess the level of his knowledge.

• In children with Down syndrome, the thought process is very underdeveloped - it is quite difficult for them to draw their own conclusions. Such a child needs to literally show everything on his fingers, because on his own he can only count or rewrite.
• Creating your own logical chains, even simple ones, or abstract thinking is too difficult for such kids. In addition, the solution of the problem for them is strictly tied to specific conditions, but to draw parallels and rebuild, having solved a similar, but not the same task, they can no longer.

• Memory is very limited; a “sunny” child needs much more time to memorize information thoroughly.
• A special student is very much distracted by any extraneous phenomena, and even gets tired very quickly, so ideally you need to build the learning process in such a way that no task is too long and exhausting.
• The perception of information is fragmented, certain facts or characteristics of the phenomenon are considered as unrelated, which prevents the discretion of laws.

• Even appeasability and goodwill can interfere with the normal learning of children with Down syndrome! Although they are very obedient and readily perform assigned tasks, and also differ in non-conflict behavior, such children are completely not inclined to be upset because of their own omissions. This has a positive effect on their mood, but it completely kills any incentive, because the child simply does not see any reason to try and do better.

However, the right approach works wonders. Experts indicate that the behavior of the child should not annoy the teacher - the baby is not to blame for what he is.

Since society has ceased to consider children with Down syndrome as outcasts, people have been able to visually see the effect of the above-mentioned thesis that a good attitude can even allow such a child to achieve certain heights. Little by little, even celebrities with such a diagnosis began to appear - they do not have such big names, however, they stand out in comparison with many healthy people.

Success is sometimes celebrated even in those areas where it seemed impossible - downs are artists and even athletes (what about awkwardness of movements and general weakness?), Actors and models (where did unsociable behavior go?), Lawyers and businessmen (allegedly unable to learn and see the whole picture).

Although there are no super-known personalities among the downs, Pablo Pineda stands out at least - he was able to get a higher education and starred in the sensational feature film “Me too” (about problems similar to his own), but in the end chose the activity of a teacher and a public figure.

You just need to treat the child well, not hiding that he is unusual, but also not focusing on this as a problem. Support and proper patient education, learning how to behave in society and what to do in private is all that is needed.

Other interesting facts about children with Down syndrome, see the following video.