Down Syndrome Today

A family member of Down syndrome individual told me the only way to truly understand is by interacting. The exchanges could be with individual themselves or with their family and friends, but until you have someone right there, you will never truly understand. Seeing a person with Down syndrome brings about different feelings in everyone. A feeling of sorrow and pity are usually the initial reaction towards the person and their family, this however, is a mistake. People with DS are humans just like the rest of us, who deserve no more pity than a person of different race or gender. Throughout my research and interactions with DS individuals and family members I have come to realize this to be true. Douglas Biklen of Syracuse University as quoted in Kliewer (1998) “ I came across a quotation on a pamphlet published by a self-advocacy group in Melbourne, Australia, that read, ‘Don’t think we don’t think.’� This quote made a connection with me. It stands out saying ‘do not presume we are incapable of thought even if not at the level of other people’. In my philosophical studies I have derived a definition of being human as someone who has the ability to think; if individuals with Down syndrome can think, then th

It is an often misconception that all people with Down syndrome are severely mentally handicapped. Being born with DS does not always affect your cognitive abilities in a massive way. Down syndrome may intellectually inhibit, producing minor cognitive retarding, however, some individuals actually poses average to above-average intelligence. People with Down syndrome have some level of mental retardation; however, the level usually falls into the mild to moderate range and is not indicative of the many strengths and talents that each individual possesses. Children with Down syndrome learn to sit, walk, talk, play, toilet train and do most other activities; only somewhat later than their peers without Down syndrome.

Down Syndrome has a universalized definition found correspondingly in almost all sources: A congenital disorder, caused by the presence of an extra 21st chromosome (also called trisomy 21), in which the affected person has mild to severe learning disabilities and physical symptoms that include; a small skull, extra folds of skin under the eyes, and a flattened nose bridge. Muscle tone throughout the body is usually low. The condition was formerly known as “mongolism” because the features of people with Down syndrome were thought to resemble those of Mongolian Asians. This term is now considered offensive and inappropriate and is no longer used. These definitions are a collaboration of definitions from Eggen and Kauchak (2001), Microsoft Encarta (2001), and The American Heritage Dictionary (2000).

The least restrictive education notion allows students an access into special education classrooms. There are three main classifications of such classrooms 8-1-1, 12-1-1, and 15-1-1. These rooms are on a student-teacher-aid proportionality, however, the number of aids and teachers can increase. Students are allowed to go to their LRE for assistance, testing, and so forth; giving them a more one-one learning environment. Educators and parents try to keep their child in the regular classroom as much as possible. This helps increase social acceptance and peer buddies, while significantly decreasing being singled out. Unfortunately, for students with Down syndrome, as their age increases, their mainstreamed time often decreases. Most children start out elementary school spending s of the day in the typical classroom (Polcovich, Karen; interview), but the gap of misunderstanding grows. With testing modifications students can be mainstreamed for a more extensive period of !

For a well-rounded definition of the terms used in this paper I have pieced together several sources. Mental retardation refers to substantial limitations and subnormal of intellectual development as a result of congenital causes, brain injury, or disease and characterized by any of various cognitive deficiencies, including impaired learning, social, and vocational ability. It is a disorder in which a person’s overall intellectual functioning is well below average, with an IQ of 70 or less.

The concept of mainstreaming became universal, as students were moved from their segregated classrooms and into a regular classroom as much as possible. This gave children an opportunity to interact socially with their peers, in the beginning; however, students were not given sufficient support and services. Resent additions to PL 94-142 have created a variety of new classrooms for students with Downs syndrome and other mental disabilities.