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Down syndrome
Trisomy 21
Down syndrome is the commonest recognisable cause of intellectual disability. In 90% of
cases it is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 in each cell of the body. The other
10% have three copies of this chromosome as a percentage of their cells (mosaic Down
Syndrome) or all or part of chromosome 21 attaching itself to other chromosomes.
Down Syndrome is recognisable at birth because of its well-known physical typical
characteristics. A tentative visual diagnosis is usually confirmed by chromosome analysis.
This syndrome has an incidence of around one in 700 live births and has traditionally been
associated with older mothers. While the chance of having a child with Down Syndrome
increases markedly with maternal age, most children with Down Syndrome are born to
mothers in their twenties as it is this group which gives birth to 95% of all babies.
There are many medical issues related to Down Syndrome, so health screening is
advisable at regular intervals from infancy to adulthood.
Useful Links
A Center for Disabilities fact sheet which provides a brief outline of the disorder:
An education website which is comprehensive source of information for families, careers, professionals and researchers:
A national organisation providing general information with links to further support:
The home page of the National Down Syndrome Society. The news, events and referral section are of use only to residents of the United States, but the information, research and bibliographies are up to date and credible. These sites also provide links to worthwhile international internet addresses.
Provides a paper on Issues of Sexuality in Down Syndrome written by doctors from Dept. of Pediatrics, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, USA.
Support Groups
Person/Organisation:
NZ Down Syndrome Association
Postal Address:
PO Box 4142, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone Number:
0800 693724
Fax Number:
06 753 2295
Email:
Support Resources
Published in 1986 by Stray-Gunderson, Kar
Published in 2003 by Kumin, Libby
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