There are often causes for an intellectual disability. Things can go wrong in all kinds of ways before birth, during and after birth. With syndromes it is very clear where the cause lies, something went wrong in the baby’s body before it was born. A syndrome is a fixed combination of a number of symptoms where the cause lies before birth.
Causes of Down Syndrome
The most common form of Down syndrome is trisomy 21. The 21st chromosome is not present in duplicate, but in triplicate in every body cell. The cause is that the cells have started dividing differently before or shortly after fertilization. Sometimes, in addition to the cells with trisomy-21, normal cells are also present in the body, this is called mosaicism . When material breaks off from one chromosome and becomes stuck on another chromosome, this is called translocation. This has happened in approximately 4% of cases with Down syndrome. Translocation is a hereditary form of Down syndrome. In other cases the syndrome is not hereditary.
The chance of having a child with Down syndrome increases with the age of the parents. In women over 40, the chance is about 1%. In women over 45, the chance is about 2%. However, it cannot be ruled out that young mothers cannot have a child with Down syndrome.
Characteristics of people with Down syndrome
- Small stature
- Broad nose bridge
- Crease on the inside of the eye
- Thick and grooved tongue
- Mouth often hanging open
- Skin fold across the width of the palm
- Heart defect (in 50% of cases)
- Vision and hearing problems
- Increased risk of leukemia
- Muscle weakness, which increases the risk of speech problems
- Alzheimer’s disease later in life
Down syndrome in the past
In the past, people with Down syndrome were called mongols. This was because they thought it was a step back in evolution. From the superior race (blonde hair, blue eyes, etc.) to the Asians. They looked very similar to the Asians because of the position of the eyes. At that time, the Asians were still called Mongols. Now we only speak of Mongols when we mean the inhabitants of Mongolia. The word mongool has become a commonly used swear word in the Netherlands. Yet, despite the fact that the term Down syndrome is known to almost everyone, it is sometimes the case that a child with Down syndrome is called a mongoloid. Some parents don’t mind this at all, but it is understandable that many parents do not like this at all.
How often does it happen
Down syndrome occurs in approximately 1 in 550 children born.
Educational opportunities, advantages and disadvantages of a regular school
Some children with Down syndrome can go to a regular primary school. Others cannot and have to go to special education. If they do go to a regular primary school, this has a number of advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
- Teaching other children to deal with a child with a disability
- The child can provide added value to the rest of the class because he or she needs a lot of structure. Many children benefit from this
- As normal as possible, the child is not placed in a box but participates in normal society
- Less chance of social isolation, at school they have friends who live nearby, and at a special school there are often children who do not live close to each other.
- The child can learn by example behavior that he adopts from the other children
- The disabled child gains experience in dealing with ordinary people, which he will have to deal with a lot later in life.
- Integration into the family, the child is not given an exceptional position
Cons:
- Disabled children are bullied more often
- Additional guidance is required, which often entails additional costs
- Risk of a negative self-image because the disabled child often performs less than the other children
- No contact with children who have the same problems (fellow sufferers)
- Sometimes adjustments are needed in the teaching material, this is not always there and it takes a lot of time for the teachers to make this
- Special education has more experts to help students with learning problems, behavioral problems or developmental disorders.
Intellectual disability for more information about the causes of an intellectual disability.