There are 400,000 people with Down Syndrome in The United States. They are people with developmental delays just like Charlie Gordon. People with developmental delays have a harder time processing things. Developmental delays affect a person's learning, language, physical, and behavioral areas. The short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes tells us about Charlie's life through his progress reports. Charlie always dreamed of being smart. They offered him a chance to have an experimental brain operation to triple his intelligence and he took the offer. After his operation he started to learn many new things. His progress reports improved in spelling and punctuation. He started to work in the research lab and gather data of his own. After …show more content…
He spent his days working as a janitor and his nights at school. He wanted to become intelligent but night school was only helping a little bit. He was asked to take some tests to see if he was eligible to be in a experimental brain operation. He struggled when taking the tests. Charlie said, “Please let me try agen. Ill get it in a few minits becaus Im not so fast somtimes.”(199). After all the tests were taken he also said in his progress reports,”I had a test today. I think I failed it.”(198). Charlie was giving up on himself. He had been trying so hard for so many years that he was just used to disappointment. He also was being made fun of by his co workers. They would bring him out to bars and give him alcoholic drinks. They knew better than to give him alcoholic drinks but Charlie just thought they were having fun with him. It was a good idea for Charlie to get the operation because he wanted to be intelligent and he would finally be able to see how people actually …show more content…
He wanted to learn so bad. He was going to night school everyday. He tried to absorb all of the information he was receiving but his brain did not have the capacity. After he got the operation he was able to learn and it would stick with him. He loved reading challenging books and learning how to write. Some of his exact words from his progress reports were,”We are reading a hard book, I never read such a hard book before.”(207) He also said,” Miss Kinnian teaches me to spell better.”(207) He is wanting to learn and is having a fun time reading challenging books and how to write the proper way. In his progress reports you can tell that he is becoming much more intelligent. The first few quotes from the book have words misspelled but now after the operation his spelling is improving. He is now enjoying working in the research lab. He has been doing some research of his own. He loved learning so much that he forgot to write in his progress report journal because he was reading or learning something
Patricia Bauer was a former Washington post reporter and one of the founders of the UCLA, a school for young adults with intellectual disabilities, although she gains most of her knowledge on the topic from raising a daughter with Down Syndrome. This article was originally published in The Washington Post, one of the most circulates newspapers in America. When this article came out in August of 2008, two major things were happening concerning mental disabled people. The first was a movie that came out
Down syndrome is characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior (Uyanik & Kayihan, 2010). The developmental, motor control, sensory integration, neurodevelopmental, and behavioral frame of references (FOR) in therapy are effective methods used by occupational therapists (OT) in their interventions in either combined or individual programs (Uyanik & Kayihan, 2010). All which are used to treat children with Down syndrome and developmental delays (Uyanik & Kayihan, 2010). The following are evidenced based research findings on the use of these FOR’s and modalities which will be used in the case study of Damion Ritter.
...egative impact on the family, the favorable effect it has outweighs the harmful influence. The family may have a lot of stress and anxiety at first, but in the end, the child assists each person in his/her family to make themselves a better person. Down Syndrome has a perilous effect on the child, however. It puts the child in a vulnerable place; the child would have many physical disadvantages (developmental delays, etc.) as well as mental health issues (fatigue, mental retardation, etc.). Children with Down Syndrome are portrayed to be unlucky and although some are, most turn out to be a beautiful addition to the world. In some cases, the treacherous effects of the disorder can put children at more of a disadvantage than they need to be. Thus, gaining knowledge on the origins of Down Syndrome can help people to find an exquisite flower within the stained snow.
Research projects in down syndrome. (2014). Retrieved January 26, 2014, from Center for Mind and Brain website: http://mindbrain.ucdavis.edu/labs/Rivera/research-areas/down-syndrome
Charlie?s experiment was temporary, and overtime his IQ regressed. Algernon, a mouse that went through the same surgery as Charlie, died. If Charlie?s hypothesis proves correct, then he will die as well. Charlie?s life was better before the experiment because he was not exposed to the risks and consequences of the surgery. Without the experiment, Charlie would still be living his ignorant but happy life.
After the operation, Charly gradually learns to associate the words he writes on the chalkboard to their meaning. Charly is so fascinated with recognizing words that while on a ritual bus trip sightseeing Boston's Historical buildings, he encounters the word school and writes it down on a small piece of paper. Charly checks every letter and corrects himself while writing it down. Soon after Charly arrives home, he does not feel like he has become smarter. He becomes angry with himself and finally sits in front of the chalkboard, and begins to write down his list of words of his activities for the ne...
Down syndrome is a very common disorder now a day’s, but not many know what it actually is. Down syndrome was a topic that was not as common back in that day. “John Langdon Down, an English physician, published an accurate description of a person with Down syndrome. It was this scholarly
Down Syndrome: Critically analyze the effects of Down syndrome on people and the support that is available
Van Riper, Marcia. ?Living with Down Syndrome: The Family Experience.? Down Syndrome Quarterly. Volume 4, Number 1 March 2005. http://www.denison.edu/dsq/vanriper.shtml
In 1886, physician John Langdon Down was the first scientist to identify Down syndrome. Down was the administrator of a mental institute for children in Surrey, England. From his observations and work at the institute, he was able to identify a set of children who exhibited characteristics such as short nose, broad flat face, short and broad hands, which are features commonly identified with Down syndrome. He later wrote an essay entitled “Observations of the Ethnic Classification of Idiots” in which he asserts the notion that it was possible to classify different types of health conditions through race. His essay included his now famous classification of what is today known as Down syndrome, which he categorized as the Mongol...
"Having Down syndrome is like being born normal. I am just like you and you are just like me. We are all born in different ways, that is the way I can describe it. I have a normal life"(Burke, C., n.d.). Where special education is concerned, one must always remember that exceptional learners are different, not less. In the following studies, the various strengths and weaknesses of the language and communication of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is reviewed and discussed.
Before Charlie had the operation preformed on him, he had friends at the bakery he worked at. They were not really his friends because they always made jokes about Charlie, but he was not smart enough to realize it. As he gets smarter he loses his friends because they think he is just trying to act smart.
From society's perspective, Down syndrome children have become a serious complication in the world. Disabled children with special needs like Down syndrome are not given the directed attention needed for appropriate treatment. In 1862, John Langdon Down characterized Down syndrome as a separate form of mental disability but he broadened his research in 1866. By the 20th century, Downs has become the most recognizable form of mental disability in the world because of the physical characteristics that distinguish their disability (Patterson, 137). Some symptoms include a small-flattened face, bowlegs in some cases, and generally, their tongue is too big for their mouth so it usually hangs outside of their mouth as well as other physical characteristics exemplifies a Down syndrome child (Wedro). Down syndrome, Downs or DS, occurs in children who have an "extra copy of chromosome 21." Ninety-five percent of Down syndrome cases are Trisomy 21 (nondisjunction), four percent are translocation, and one percent is mosaicism. There are roughly 400,000 cases of Downs in the United States toda...
What most people don’t know about Down syndrome is that they can live normal lives and with much therapy and the right education people with the condition can live on their own, have a career, and get married. (Linda Crnic Institute for Down syndrome.) However, helping them is crucial to be able to do everyday things, such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of personal hygiene. With learning these life skills that most adults learn over time, they need more help and people to work with them. (KidsHealth) To truly help and understand someone with Down syndrome one has to have patience, compassion, and knowledge about the condition. Having this disorder does not hold them back from anything, they can do anything they put their mind too. Yet there are some things and programs to help them along the way, like physical therapy, speech therapy, and a more in depth education.
Down syndrome are growing and the population of them is rising. They are very capable and