Down Syndrome- Facts and Statistics

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Facts and Statistics

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that develops when there is an abnormal cell division resulting in an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Facts
  • There are three types of Down syndrome: trisomy 21 (nondisjunction) accounts for 95% of cases, translocation accounts for about 4%, and mosaicism accounts for about 1%
  • Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring chromosomal condition. Approximately one in every 700 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome – about 6,000 each year
  • Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels
  • The incidence of births of children with Down syndrome increases with the age of the mother. But due to higher fertility rates in younger women, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age
  • People with Down syndrome have an increased risk for certain medical conditions such as congenital heart defects, respiratory and hearing problems, Alzheimer’s disease, childhood leukemia and thyroid conditions. Many of these conditions are now treatable, so most people with Down syndrome lead healthy lives
  • A few of the common physical traits of Down syndrome are: low muscle tone, small stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm. Every person with Down syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees or not at all
  • Life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased dramatically in recent decades – from 25 in 1983 to 60 today
  • People with Down syndrome attend school, work, participate in decisions that affect them, have meaningful relationships, vote and contribute to society in many wonderful ways
  • All people with Down syndrome experience cognitive delays, but the effect is usually mild to moderate and is not indicative of the many strengths and talents that each individual possesses
Prevalence
  • The incidence of Down syndrome is between I in 1000 to 1 in 1,100 live birth worldwide.
  • Each year, approximately 3,000 to 5,000 children are born with Down syndrome.
  • 60-80% of children with Down syndrome having hearing issues
  • 40-45% of children with Down syndrome have congenital heart disease
Life Expectancy
  • The life expectancy increased slowly from 1900 to 1960 (by 89%) but rapidly grew from 1960 to 2007 (456%)
Life Expectancy by Race
  • Whites with Down syndrome in the United States had a median death at the age of 50 in 1997 compared to 25 years for African Americans and 11 for people of other races

 

Reference

National Down Syndrome Society

World Health Organization

 

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month
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Going to College With Autism

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Source: Child Mind Institute

Vassar junior Zoe Gross knows her strengths and weaknesses all too well. So while she gets good grades, the 21-year-old is aware that she does things more slowly than most people, including getting dressed in the morning, transitioning between activities, and writing papers. It makes college an even greater challenge. “When you take into account that when I’m living on my own it is difficult for me just to keep myself washed, fed and in clean clothes,” she says, “it means that I can’t do the schoolwork as fast as the professors can assign it.”

Gross is on the autism spectrum, and her struggles with life skills and executive function—the mental processes that involve things like planning, time management and multitasking—leave her feeling depressed and anxious. “I get sick a lot because my immune system is shot,” she says. “I got strep and mono in one semester.” Of course, this adds to her anxiety and trouble getting things done. “Every semester I am absolutely miserable by finals.” After finally hitting a serious “rocky patch,” as she puts it, Gross decided to take a break this semester. Click here to read the rest of the story

Teaching Self-Regulation and Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Many children diagnosed with autism experience high levels of anxiety which leads to difficult coping skills. Self-regulation helps children on the autism spectrum learn how to mange stress and build resilience. It is through self-regulation that students learn ways to function and manage their own stress, the following links provide information on teaching children techniques on self-regulation. These techniques are also useful for children diagnosed with ADHD and anyone with emotional difficulties and impulses.

 

30 games and activities for self-regulation

Calm down kit for older children

Emotional dysregulation and the core features of autism spectrum disorder

Emotional regulations and autism spectrum disorder

How can we help kids with self-regulation?

How to teach self-regulation

Intervention teaches emotional regulation

Lion and lamb self-regulation activity

Self-regulation in the classroom

Self-regulation/Self-Control: Tips and strategies 

Strategies for teaching kids self-regulation

Strategy helps autistic kids rein in emotions

Teaching kids to self-regulate in the classroom

Teaching kids with autism about emotions and self-regulations

Tools for teaching self-regulation and relaxation

15 Visual Schedule Resources

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Imagine during the course of the day you have no idea what is expected of you. Moving from one activity to the next depending on others to inform you of your daily plans. there are many benefits to using visual schedules especially for autistic children and adults. Studies show that many people diagnosed with autism experience high levels of anxiety often caused by unstructured activities.

Visual schedules are a way to communicate an activity through the use of images, symbols, photos, words, numbers and drawings that will help a child or adult follow rules and guidelines and understand what is expected during the course of the day.

Th following are resources containing information on creating visual schedules and free printables:

8 types of visual student schedules

Building a daily schedule

Daily visual schedule for kids free printable

Examples of classroom and individual schedule and activity cards

Free picture schedule

Free visual schedule printables to help kids with daily routines

Free visual school schedules

How to templates- visual schedules

How to use visuals purposefully and effectively

Time to eat visual schedules

Using visual schedules: A guide for parents

Visual schedule for toddlers

Visual schedule resources

Visual supports and autism spectrum disorders

What is visual scheduling?

Autism in adults often accompanied by depression

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Source: Spectrum
Written by: Hannah Furfaro

Depression is more than three times as common among adults with autism as it is in the general population, according to new work1. And those with average or above intelligence are more likely to be depressed than those with low intellectual ability.

The study found that about 20 percent of autistic people have a diagnosis of depression, compared with 6 percent of the general population.

The findings are based on data from a large Swedish cohort, but they are likely to apply more broadly. A large 2015 study in the United States likewise reported that 26 percent of people with autism have a depression diagnosis, compared with 10 percent in the general population2. A smaller study that same year estimated that 43 percent of autistic people have depression3. Click here to read the rest of the story

Assistive Technology to Help Students with Developmental Delays Succeed Academically

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Developmental delays can affect almost every area of a child’s life. This broad issue can cover any possible milestone that a child doesn’t meet according to the expected timeline, including speech or movement. While children with developmental delays can still be successful, it will require some additional help from patient teachers. Educators would do well to research the available assistive technology that can help to bolster a child’s education and encourage academic success.

What tools are available to help students compensate for their developmental delays? Here are just a few of the top technologies that parents and teachers have found to be successful in the classroom. Click here to read the rest of the story.

Teaching Telling Time To Special Needs Children and Adults

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Teaching children and adults with disabilities to tell time is one of the many steps towards independence. While neurotypical children tend to start learning how to tell around the first grade, for children with disabilities, it may take a little longer.

When teaching a child with a disability to learn how to read, teaching time telling skills requires more practice a most. each step should be broken Use multi-sensory activities as much as you can including practices that involve tactile, visual, touch, etc. Be aware if the child has a sensory processing disorder. Look for clues of a pending meltdown as the child may begin to feel overwhelmed. Allow the opportunity to calm down before returning to the activity.

The following resources below includes worksheets, templates and interactive games.

Busy Teacher. Provides beginner steps to teaching time

Education World. Lesson plans including a bingo card and additional resources on telling time

Scholastic. A lesson plan on teaching time using an analog clock model including information on pre-instructional planning and a clock template

Scholastic. Provides 10 ways to practice time skills

Teaching Time. Site includes worksheets, interactive games and templates.

The Mad House. Blog on how to make a paper plate clock- Great multisensory activity for learners

Third Space Learning. A blog article that provides a step by step technique on teaching time including ways to reduce cognitive overload.

We Are Teachers. 5 hands on ways to teach telling time. The webpage also includes a free blank watch for children to color.

Worksheet Generator

Home School Math.Net

Telling Time Quiz

Clock Wise

Games For Telling Time

Clock Games

Just In Time

Teaching Clock

What Time Is It?

Worksheets Printables

Common Core Worksheets

Education.com

Math.aids.com

Telling Time To The Hour

Why Children With ‘Severe Autism’ Are Overlooked by Science

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Published by: Spectrum
Writtten by: Alisa Opar

 

It should have been a perfect day. Lauren Primmer was hosting an annual party at her home in New Hampshire for families that, like hers, have adopted children from Ethiopia. On the warm, sunny July afternoon, about 40 people gathered for a feast of hot dogs, hamburgers and homemade Ethiopian dishes. The adults sipped drinks and caught up while the children swam in the pool and played basketball. It was entirely pleasant — at least, until the cake was served. When Primmer told her 11-year-old son Asaminew that he couldn’t have a second piece, he threw a tantrum so violent it took three adults to hold him down on the grass.
The Primmers adopted Asaminew from an orphanage in Ethiopia in 2008, when he was 26 months old. They had already adopted another child from the same orphanage in Ethiopia, and they have four older biological children. From the beginning, Primmer says, “He would only go to me, not anyone else.” That tendency, she later learned, may have been a symptom of reactive detachment disorder, a condition seen in some children who didn’t establish healthy emotional attachments with their caregivers as infants.
About a year and a half later, the family adopted three more Ethiopian children — siblings about Asaminew’s age — and he became aggressive. “When they first came, Asaminew was very abusive,” Primmer recalls. “He’d bite and scratch them.” The Primmers had to install gates on all of the children’s bedroom doors for their safety. Soon after he entered preschool, Asaminew began lashing out at his classmates, too. His teachers suggested that he be evaluated for autism. Doctors at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic in Manchester, New Hampshire, diagnosed him with the condition. In addition to his violent episodes, they took note of his obsession with lining up toy cars and flushing toilets, his habit of taking his clothes off in public and his tendency to not follow rules at home or school. Asaminew is intellectually disabled and speaks in short, simple sentences. Click here to read the rest of the story

Creating Successful Museum Expereinces For Children With Disabiliites

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Published by: Art Works Blog
Written by: Rebecca Sutton

When Roger Ideishi was helping a Philadelphia aquarium develop programming for children with cognitive and sensory disorders, he surveyed parents to see whether or not they thought their child would engage with programming by touching a starfish. “Every single parent said their child would not touch the starfish,” said Ideishi, a professor at Temple University who specializes in helping organizations develop meaningful experiences for children with disabilities. “Guess what happened? Every child touched the starfish.”

It’s an example of the happy surprises that can occur when taking children with sensory or cognitive disorders to community institutions such as Blue Star Museums, which include several aquariums around the country. “Without these opportunities, parents wouldn’t have known that their children had these other capacities or interests,” said Ideishi. Click here to read the rest of the story.

8 Proven Stategies To Attract And Retain Job Candidates On The Autism Spectrum

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Published by: ERE Recruiting Intelligence
Written by: Samatha Craft

Here are several strategies for attracting and retaining autistic job candidates, based on my experience working as a job recruiter and community manager for a U.S. technology company that provides employment for individuals on the autism spectrum.

Understand autism from different perspectives

Take time to read up on autism, including cultural and historical context by respected journalist. Examples of two well-received books are: NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity and In a Different Key: The Story of Autism. Consider professional accounts from well-known experts in the autism field, such as psychologist Tony Attwood and job coach Barbara Bissonnette. Click here to read the rest of the story.