Caring for People with Additional Needs

Down Syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder in which a baby is born with an extra chromosome. A baby is usually identified at birth through observation of a set of common physical characteristics. They include having slanted eyes, a pushed in face, and “Brushfield spots” [white/gray spots that appear in the iris of people with down syndrome]. In the 1930’s down syndrome was not treated very well, however many changes in the medical field has led to a better treatment of those who have this illness.

Although there is been a rare chance (pause) for people with Down Syndrome to become a parents. Men with Down Syndrome are considered as sterile although the causes of sterile are not known in detail yet. sterile meaning us a male with Down Syndrome not be able to produce children or young.There are confirmed cases that male with Down Syndrome became fathers. Many scientist have working on to find out why can’t most of the people with Down Syndrome can’t became parents. The percentage of female become parent is 25% and foe the male is 5% of a change that they can be parents. There is a 50% chance that they will have a child with Down Syndrome.

. Down syndrome is not a disease that someone catches and is not caused by difficulties during the pregnancy, it is a genetic condition. This condition is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome in the body’s cells and causes a redundant amount of proteins to be formed. All cells of the body derive from a single cell formed by the fusion of a father’s sperm and a mother’s egg. Each cell carries a nucleus full of genetic material known as genes. These genes are inherited from both the mother and father. Each cell normally contains 46 pairs of chromosomes. 23 chromosomes come from one parent and 23 from the other, hence the 46 pairs. When it comes to children with down syndrome, one of the chromosomes does not separate properly and so the

Down syndrome occurs in people who were born with three, rather than two, copies of the 21st chromosome. This extra genetic material is what brings about the effects of Down’s syndrome. It is often characterized by an impairment of cognitive (process of thought) ability. Most people with Down syndrome have lower than average, mild to moderate, cognitive ability and this cannot be predicted at birth. A smaller number fall into the severe impairment range. Physically, people with Down’s syndrome are smaller in stature, have less muscle tone, and have noticeably different facial features. The number of these births occurs approximately in one out of every one thousand (ndss.org). As of 2007, the number of people in the United States with Down syndrome stood at about 350,000. These numbers will shrink because now (most) potential parents can know the condition of the fetus early. This information is included to let the reader relate to the struggles that some with Down syndrome goes through.

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that numerous individuals around the world suffer from; it is an intellectual disability that is caused by having one too many chromosome 21 copies, trisomy 21. The average person has two copies of chromosome 21 in each cell, whereas, an individual with Down syndrome has an extra copy of chromosome 21. This happens when either the sperm or egg cell undergoes atypical cell division during development. In the United States, there are approximately 400,000 individuals who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome, according to the last census in 2012 (National Down Syndrome Society).

Thousands of babies are born a day in the United States. One out every 691 babies born has Down syndrome, a disorder caused by an extra copy of the chromosome twenty one. In short, this syndrome shortens the person’s life span, and causes assorted severity of mental retardation. Those carrying this extra chromosome have flattened noses, rounder faces, are petite in size, and are much more prone to additional unhealthy disturbances or effects on substantial systems in the body.

This assignment on understanding specific needs will look into the perceptions that people have of health, disability, illness and behaviour in a health and social care context. It will also look into and explain how attitudes towards individuals with specific needs and perceptions of those needs change over time and differ between cultures. I will then analyse how legislation, society, culture and social policy interact to influence attitudes toward and service development for individuals with specific needs.

I. Attention Getter: Approximately one in every 700 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome, that makes approximately 6000 babies born each year with Down syndrome. Although physical and cognitive traits are affected by this genetic disorder, individuals can attend school, work, participate in decisions that affect them, have meaningful relationships, vote and contribute to society in many wonderful ways. II. Thesis: Down syndrome is the most common genetic disorder in the United States and it accounts for much of the learning disabilities found in children today (Staff 2014).

After trying for many years, a woman was successful in becoming pregnant. As a component of one of her routine pre-natal appointments, she was tested for fetal abnormalities. A blood test confirmed that her baby has Down syndrome and her physician recommended aborting the fetus. Down syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality that leads to intellectual disability, weak muscle tone and a unique facial characteristic. Down syndrome children often have increased risks for heart defects and other medical conditions such as gastric reflux. Taking care of a child with Down syndrome can be both mentally and physically exhausting. Taking care of a child with Down syndrome can be equally rewarding.

The preposition of cells seems to exhibit the severity of trisomy. The age of the parents seems to increase the contributing aspect to Down syndrome. Women thirty-five and older have given birth to sixteen percent of babies, which over half were born with Down syndrome. Expects have conducted different experiments to try and explain this, the first being the “older egg” hypothesis. With age the ova either changes due to time or for the reason of increased exposure to potentially hazardous biological and environmental conditions (p89). During ovulation the egg cells being released in later childbearing aged women are more susceptible to chromosomal errors as most are undergoing the last stages of meiosis. Other expects have a hypothesis of the “relaxed selection”, which shows older mothers, contrary to younger mothers, are less likely to unconsciously terminate the fetus with trisomy 21 chromosomes. Another view is egg cells with the extra chromosomes are less likely to be selected but as the women ages more egg cells with extra chromosomes are present and there are more to choose from. The age of the father can also be a

Down Syndrome is not commonly genetically passed down as opposed to what some may think, it happens by random. About 1% of the cases are heredity and 5% come from the father. Although, the risk of having a child diagnosed with down syndrome increase dramatically past the age of 35. “A 35-year-old woman has about a one in 350 chance of conceiving a child with Down syndrome, and this chance increases gradually to 1 in 100 by age 40.” (ndss)

It is still unknown why this happens. Down syndrome is viewed as a very rare disorder. It is one of the most common chromosomal condition. According to the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), it is estimated that there are about 400,000 people in the United States with down syndrome and one in 641 babies are born with down syndrome. The likelihood of a 20-year-old women giving birth to a child with down syndrome is one in 2,000. The chances of a 35-year-old women giving birth to a child with down syndrome is one in 350. “More and more Americans are interacting with individuals with Down syndrome, increasing the need for widespread public education and acceptance,” (NDSS). About 38 percent of Americans know someone who has down syndrome. Down syndrome is more common than people

FACT: More than 80% of babies with Down syndrome are born to women under the age of 35, and the average age of a mother of an infant with Down syndrome is 28 years.

Also, there is a greater risk of a child having Down syndrome if the mother is over 35 years old.

Down syndrome was named after John Langdon Down, who was the first person to discover Down syndrome. In the earlier years it was called Mongolism, which is no longer used because it is offensive to the Mongolians. James N. Parker and Philip M. Parker state “Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by an error in cell division that results in the presence of an additional third chromosome 21 or ‘trisomy 21’” (10). There are different types of Down Syndrome according to the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), there is Trisomy 21, Mosaicism, and Translocation (What is Down syndrome?). There is no way to prevent having a baby with Down syndrome although chances increase as the woman gets older. The NDSS says, “A 35-year-old woman has about a 1 in 350 chance of conceiving a child with Down syndrome, and this chance increases gradually to 1 in 100 by age 40” (What is Down syndrome?). Although the risk is greater for older women, it is still possible to have a child with Down syndrome at a younger age.