Types Of Down Syndrome

People refer to people with down syndrome as “retarded,” but how is that fair? It is not their fault they have down syndrome. It’s not anyone’s fault, down syndrome has nothing to do with religion, race, or socioeconomic status. It can happen to anyone, down syndrome is a genetic mutation caused by an extra full or partial 21 chromosome. It’s the most common genetic disorder in the world and affects 1 in every 691 babies born in the United States.
Down syndrome is named after a British doctor, Langdon Down, who first described the condition in 1887. Langdon did not have down syndrome but wrote a paper entitled “Observations on the Ethnic Classifications of Idiots.” In his paper Langdon referred to down syndrome as the “Mongolian type of Idiot,” which resulted in people with down syndrome being called “Monogoloids.” It wasn’t until more than 60 years later, in 1959, that an extra 21 chromosome was identified as the cause by Dr. Jerome Lejune.
There are three types of down syndrome trisomy 21, translocation, and mosaic down syndrome or mosaicism. Trisomy 21 is the most common type of down syndrome and it account for 95% of cases. When someone has trisomy 21 they have 47 chromosomes instead of 46 in every cell, which is caused by an error in cell division known as nondisjunction. Usually a baby inherits genetic information from both parents, 23 from each parent, but at some point during cell division a pair of 21st chromosomes in either the X or Y chromosome fails to separate, causing the child to have an extra 21st chromosome. This one extra chromosome is the cause of down syndrome’s development delays and physical features that are associated with down syndrome.
Translocation down syndrome accounts for about 3% of cas...

... middle of paper ...

...hat conceive over the age of 35 and older are most likely to have a child with the condition. However since birth rates are a lot higher in younger women, 80% of newborns that have down syndrome in the US are born to mothers under the age of 35. 38% of people in the US know someone with down syndrome.
People with down syndrome are similar to you, so why is it okay for you call them retarded? They only have part or a full extra chromosome 21. It is amazing how one piece of genetic material can change your life. People with down syndrome are one chromosome away to being just like you, so why should you call them retarded because you have 46 chromosomes? You could have been them, so be thankful for what you have and don’t put people with down syndrome down because they aren’t like you. They’re human just like you, so keep calm because it only an extra chromosome.