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.
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.
The most common mental health concerns in individuals with Down syndrome include anxiety, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, oppositional behaviors, depression, and tic disorder.
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.
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.
Misconception: People who have Down syndrome cannot have children. Reality: It's true that a person with Down syndrome may have significant challenges in rearing a child. But women who have Down syndrome are fertile and can give birth to children.
For example, auditory hallucinations were reported in 45% of 22 adult patients with Down syndrome and depression [30], and Urv et al. [5] identified delusions or hallucinations in up to 79% of older adults over the age of 50 with possible or definite dementia.
Students with DS cannot do this as well. They lack the language, the cognitive flexibility needed in verbal discourse and the larger world view to win many verbal arguments. So...they look stubborn.
Description. Down syndrome is a chromosomal condition that is associated with intellectual disability, a characteristic facial appearance, and weak muscle tone (hypotonia) in infancy. All affected individuals experience cognitive delays, but the intellectual disability is usually mild to moderate.
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.
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.
Depression is at least as common in people with Down's syndrome as it is in the general population and affects them in the same way. It is much more than just feeling sad or low for a while.
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.
The answer is: Yes, a person with Down syndrome can get married and have children, and there are many successful experiences in marriage and childbearing in such category of people.
Down syndrome (DS) is a form of accelerated aging, and people with DS are highly prone to aging-related conditions that include vascular and neurological disorders.
In many children with Down syndrome, the muscles and ligaments that support the neck are weak and loose. This can potentially cause spinal cord compression, in which the small bones in the neck (vertebrae) press on the spinal cord. Compression may lead to reduced muscle coordination, numbness, and weakness.
Some Adults With Down Syndrome Can Live on Their Own; Others Live in a Group Environment.
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.
Characteristics of Down syndrome
Often students will have strong empathy with others, good social skills, good short-term memory and visual learning skills.
In a study of self-awareness among 77 children with DS using interviews, standardized tests, and photographs, over half were considered to have some level of self-awareness about their diagnosis but 13% refused to talk about their condition during their interviews [Cunningham and Glenn, 2004].
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.
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.
Although women older than 35 years of age make up a small portion of all births6 in the United States each year, about nearly one-half of babies with Down syndrome are born to women in this age group.
Many people think that people with Down's syndrome are always happy and loving because often this is their own experience of them. However, people with Down's syndrome experience the same range of feelings and moods as everyone else. Myth 4: People with Down's syndrome don't live as long as other people.