Although there is no cure for Fragile X, intervention for these secondary effects may be required. For the more apparent behavioral characteristics, parents and teachers are the main influences in a Fragile X child's life. Consistency in teaching procedures and in behavior management, both at home and at school, is vitally important. .
COGNITIVE DEFICITS ASSOCIATED WITH FRAGILE X SYNDROME.
Approximately 2.5% of the general population is mentally disabled. Of the 2.5%, 40% of all nonspecific mental disabilities and 10% of all mental disabilities are caused by Fragile X syndrome. Since the suggestion that approximately 1 in 2,000 males are affected with the Fragile X syndrome a profile of specific physical characteristics, social and emotional behaviors, and unique intellectual deficits has gradually surfaced.
It has been recently concluded that the foremost diagnosis can be based on the detection of a mutation on the DNA level. The ability to distinguish between a permutation and a full mutation provides a greater prediction for the risk of being mentally disabled. Identification by DNA analysis is an effective and dependable test for the diagnosis of Fragile X syndrome after birth as well as for prenatal and genetic counseling purposes. It is now possible to determine male or female carriers of Fragile X mutation with high reliability.
Females with Fragile X are not usually mentally disabled. Females do, however, generally display mild to severe learning disabilities. Females that inherit the chromosome from their mother appear to have greater difficulty with communication, socialization, affect and thought processing than do females who inherited the chromosome from their father. On the other hand, Fragile X males are usually moderately to severely mentally disabled. Along with being mentally disabled, affected males have a tendency to be autistic, hyperactive, self-abusive, anxious and even possibly psychotic.