October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month

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Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring genetic condition. One in every 691 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome, or approximately 6,000 births per year. Today, there are more than 400,000 people with Down syndrome living in the United States.

On Hawai’i Island, as in most of the United States,individuals with Down syndrome live at home with their families.  Full Life Direct Support Workers support many individuals on Hawai’i Island with Down Syndrome assisting them in living full lives pursuing their vocational, social, educational and recreational choices.

Individuals with Down Syndrome are valuable employees.

They are employed in small- and medium-sized offices: by banks, corporations, nursing homes, hotels and restaurants. They work in the music and entertainment industry, in clerical positions, childcare, the sports field and in the computer industry to name a few.

All people with Down syndrome have an extra, critical portion of chromosome 21 present in all or some of their cells.  This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome.

22nd chromosome

Research has shown that this extra chromosome or “translocation”  increases in frequency as a woman ages.  However, due to higher birth rates in younger women, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age.

There is no definitive scientific research that indicates that Down syndrome is caused by environmental factors or the parents’ activities before or during pregnancy.

The additional partial or full copy of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome can originate from either the father or the mother. Approximately 5% of the cases have been traced to the father.

Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels, though older women have an increased chance of having a child with Down syndrome. A 35 year old woman has about a one in 350 chance of conceiving a child with Down syndrome, and this chance increases gradually to 1 in 100 by age 40. At age 45 the incidence becomes approximately 1 in 30.
Due to advances in medical technology, individuals with Down syndrome are living longer than ever before. In 1910, children with Down syndrome were expected to survive to age nine. With the discovery of antibiotics, the average survival age increased to 19 or 20. Now, with recent advancements in clinical treatment, most particularly corrective heart surgeries, as many as 80% of adults with Down syndrome reach age 60, and many live even longer.  Since more and more of us  are interacting with individuals with Down syndrome Full Life encourages you to learn more.