Toddlers and older kids may have delays in speech and self-care skills like feeding, dressing, and using the toilet. Down syndrome affects kids' ability to learn in different ways, and most have mild to moderate intellectual disability. Kids can and do learn, and they can develop skills throughout their lives.
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.
Most kids with Down syndrome will live a normal life.
Most of the time, it's at a moderate level. If you have a baby with Down syndrome, you'll need to care for, talk to, play with, and love them like any other infant. It's important to have high expectations for your baby with Down syndrome.
Some drive themselves in a car, while others are more challenged. Because many people with Down syndrome get around easily, those individuals may be able to live on their own, whether they're completely independent and living by themselves, or they live in a group setting with friends or family, Dr. Vellody says.
Up to 60% of children with Down syndrome have severe vision problems that can make their life and learning more difficult. Parents and teachers need to be aware of these problems so they can proactively ensure that any visual difficulties are detected and dealt with.
Most adults with Down syndrome are aware they have Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome live ordinary lives filled with extraordinary needs.
Trying to make them feel better with words like these might be appreciated by some parents and not by others. It is best to avoid this. “They're such loving children.” This is a stereotype of people with Down syndrome and a statement like this demonstrates that you really don't know much about Down syndrome.
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.
THE POWER OF IGNORING
many children with down syndrome are very social. They often love to receive attention, even if it is negative. if a behavior is not unsafe, try ignoring it and giving no feedback. Sometimes this is enough to get rid of a behavior!
People with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities experience grief just like anyone else. Some people have a misconception that people with Down syndrome don't have feelings about a significant loss because they don't understand what happened. This is not true.
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.
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.
Typically, these children have a much harder time learning to talk (expressive language) than with understanding what they hear (receptive language). On average, children with Down syndrome start using words around 16 months of age—about 6 months later than other children.
It has been speculated that there is a personality/behavioural phenotype among people with Down's syndrome, although research has been inconclusive. There is little evidence to support severe psychotic disturbance and aggressive behaviours being common in the Down's syndrome population.
Behavior Changes in Childhood and Adolescence
For example, temper tantrums are typically common at ages two and three, but for a child with Down syndrome, they may begin at three to four years of age.
The average age for 1st period in girls with Down's syndrome is 12 years 6 months (in the general population it is approx 13 years). Periods often begin 2 years after the start of breast development. Periods do not usually start before age 9 years and most girls will have started their periods by 15 years.
(De Graaf et al., 2022). There is no definitive scientific research that indicates that Down syndrome is caused by environmental factors or the parents' activities before or during pregnancy. The additional partial or full copy of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome can originate from either parent.
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.
The extra chromosome comes from either the mother or the father. It makes no difference to the person with Down's syndrome which parent the extra chromosome came from.
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.
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.