Schooling Children With Down Syndrome : Toward An Understanding Of Possibility By Christopher Kliewer

The book Schooling Children with Down Syndrome by C. Kliewer orients readers to see the exclusion of people Down Syndrome from mainstream society as a social construct anchored on a misconstrued medicalized notion to label people living with Down Syndrome as being mentally retarded. From central theme permeating this book- the social model of disability, I draw parallels to my experience as an International student in the United States because like a person living with Down Syndrome, I struggle to attain “citizenship”. At present, my racial and political identity bothers between being an “alien” or a “squatter”.

The York Area Down Syndrome Association (YADSA) is an association that supports families whose children have Down Syndrome. YADSA has partnered with York College of Pennsylvania for an incredible event where I had to opportunity to work with a student with Down Syndrome over two events. I worked with Kira, she is a high school student that is shy at first, but quickly comes out of her shell. She is a silly and outgoing person, who loves cheerleading, science, and Disneyworld.

Down syndrome is an intellectual disability that is a result of a person being born with an extra chromosome, specifically chromosome 21. Down syndrome is the most common intellectual disability affecting approximately 1 in every 1000 births (Asim, Kumar, Muthuswamy, Jain, & Agarwal, 2015). Research has found a direct link between the age of the mother and the possibility that the baby will be born with Down syndrome, with the occurrence of Down syndrome increasing proportionally with the increased age of the mother (Asim, 2015). This condition can cause both intellectual (cognitive) and physical impairments that can range from moderate to severe (Crosta, 2016). People with Down syndrome have physical impairments such as a flat face, little to no neck, small ears, slated eyes, shorter than normal limbs and they tend to have low muscle tone (Asim, 2015). Children with Down syndrome tend to have a slower development of natural movements such as sitting, crawling and walking (Crosta, 2015). Intellectually people with Down syndrome tend to have a below average intelligence and most often they need extra assistance when attending school (Asim, 2015).

mother could have a Down Syndrome baby even though there was never any sign of

The National Association for Down Syndrome is governed much like a traditional corporation, with a board of directors and staff members, although it is a nonprofit. "NADS is the oldest organization in the country serving individuals with Down syndrome and their families. It was founded in Chicago in 1961 by parents who chose to go against medical advice and raised their children with Down syndrome at home" (About NADS, 2012, NADS). From its inception, NADS was designed to provide support for parents of children with Down syndrome and their offspring. Its key stakeholders are parents and children, and it strives to educate the larger community about the disorder and to cultivate community resources to better enable parents to raise their children in a supportive and loving environment that caters to the children's special needs. Information-gathering and dissemination, support, and advocacy on a national and local level are all part of the organizations' mission.

Aside from providing children with academic benefits, it provides them with a better understanding and respect for diversity. Being in a setting with many different types of students with different needs and abilities provides students with a way to learn about differences and how they can help others. In the Success For All study, results showed that the children involved in the study had “a reduced fear of human differences accompanied by increased comfort and awareness.” (Stout, 2001) If children are separated in the school because of their developmental differences then they will never truly learn that it is okay to be a unique individual. The idea that it is acceptable to be different should become a common knowledge to our students. With that knowledge, our students can make the future a better place for everyone. It has been said that the goal of inclusion is to “create a world in which all people are knowledgeable about and supportive of all other people.” (Whitworth, 1999)

For the purpose of this assignment, this section of the paper will critically reflect and analyze the portrayal of people with Down Syndrome in mass media. I chose to specifically evaluate CBC New’s portrayal because it is one of our greatest sources of news in British Columbia. This section will look into several of CBC’s most recent news stories that are about people with down syndrome and the adversity they face. We will see that there is a common trend towards advocating for these people as well as trying to rid Down Syndrome from being seen as a disability.

Down syndrome is a disorder with a genetic basis: the fertilized egg that develops into a child with Down syndrome has three Chromosome 21s instead of the two found in individuals without Down syndrome. Children with Down syndrome experience neurocognitive deficits in the areas of language development, communication, memory, and higher order thinking skills that depend on judgment and integration of concepts (Davis, 2008). The significance of these impairments for teachers and educational systems is that children with Down syndrome learn at a slower rate than other children, but they are capable of learning in integrated classroom assistance when targeted accommodations have been identified and made available. Invariably, teachers in integrated settings who have students with Down syndrome in their classes will make targeted instructional decisions that are designed to capitalize on the students' strengths and minimize their weaknesses. This paper discusses successful strategies that are adaptable to the education of students with Down syndrome in integrated educational environments.

This study used direct instruction to teach three preschool age children with Down syndrome vegetable names. The three children were chosen for this study from university program for children with disabilities because they were able to maintain attention for a minimum of 10 minutes, follow basic instructions, name one work objects and had the skills needed to participate in small group instruction. All three students had been participating in group instruction for 2 years and could participate in group activities with help from an adult.

Marisna is a 39yo, G3 P2002, who is currently 21 weeks 0 days as dated by LMP using a due date of 04/25/17. This was consistent with her 1st ultrasound in your office that measured just slightly ahead with a due date of 04/18/17. She is AMA. She had a quad screen in your office that returned screen positive with an increased risk of Down syndrome of 1:100. This is close to what her age based risk would be. Open neural tube defect was screen negative. In reviewing her analytes, AFP was slightly elevated at 2.15 MoM and inhibin was borderline at 1.87 MoM. She was diagnosed with chronic HTN fairly early in her last pregnancy. She did not have preeclampsia with that pregnancy to her knowledge. The baby was quite small, as it weighed just over 4 lb at term. She was not on BP medication chronically, but coming into this pregnancy at 19 weeks her BP was elevated at 162/90 and she was started on labetalol. I cannot tell in the records if she had protein in her urine but she did have 2+ on her dip in our office today. She reports that she has collected a 24-hr urine last week, although we do not have those results. Because she entered care late, she is not on baby aspirin for the prevention of preeclampsia.

When I was little, I didn't think that my cousin Heather was any different than me. We played together, acted out the characters of our favorite movies and television shows, and talked like we've been best friends forever. At the time I was around the age seven, Heather was eight. We, along with our other cousins, were at our grandparent's house in Houston, Minnesota, waiting anxiously for supper so we could open Christmas presents afterwards.

Inclusion in classrooms can further benefit the communication skills and sense of community among students with and without disabilities. “Children that learn together, learn to live together” (Bronson, 1999). For students with special needs, inclusive classrooms provide them with a sense of self-belonging. The classrooms provide diverse environments with which the students will evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). For students without disabilities, they learn to develop appreciation of the diversity. The classrooms provide many opportunities for the students to experience diversity and realize that everyone has different abilities that are unique and acceptable. From this realization, the students will learn to be respectful for others with different characteristics (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion in classrooms is beneficial to all students’ individual and community growth.

Although my elder brother is now 32, he is still like a child to me! As a matter of fact, the older sibling learns to read, then the younger sibling learns to read. Entrenched in my memory, the younger sibling feels compelled to wait for the older sibling to “catch up” or show mastery of a skill before the younger sibling will accomplish it himself. Growing up with my older brother with Down’s syndrome is an indelible experience.

Josko (2014) asserts that the era of personalized medicine is upon us, and that with the completion of the Human Genome Project, and advances in DNA sequencing techniques and

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder in which a person is born with an extra copy of chromosome 21. There are three genetic variations that cause Down syndrome: Trisomy 21, Mosaic Trisomy 21 or Translocation Trisomy 21. There are many ways in which theses disorders affect the body.  Trisomy 21 occurs when an egg or sperm comes in with an extra copy of chromosome 21, then, once an embryo is formed and starts to develop, the chromosome is replicated in every single cell of the embryo. Trisomy 21 is the most common type of Down syndrome. About 92% of Down syndrome patients have this type. People with Trisomy usually have physical problems.