In light of Down syndrome Awareness Month, here are 15 facts about Down Syndrome, as pulled from the National Association for Down Syndrome website:
1. Dr. Jerome Lejeune first described Down Syndrome at a chromosome 21 trisomy in 1959.
2. Down syndrome is actually named after a doctor who first described the disease. His name was Dr. John Langdon Down.
3. The life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increasingly risen from 25 to 59 since 1989.
4. Down syndrome happens before conception; so there is nothing a person did, or didn’t do, to cause it. It happens when the egg, or sperm, is produced with an extra copy of chromosome 21.
5. Taking prenatal vitamins will not prevent Down syndrome (but taking your prenatals as Folic acid is important!).
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Being an RBT for me was extremely fun because where were you going to find a place where you can be completely silly without having to worry what people thought about you? This was the only job that made me feel like I could make a dramatic difference while being myself.
I also liked to be surrounded by people that had the same goals of wanting to help kids and the teamwork made the job much easier and more enjoyable.
Change and progress was the ultimate goal for our kiddos. The early intervention program was seriously only a miracle because I saw changes in the kiddos that from day one, you wouldn’t even recognize who they were.
Changes from being able to utter 3-4 words where they can only make a syllable from when they started, the behavior decreases in which kiddo that used to engage in 30-40 0 self-harm to only half, learning how to wait during games, table work where they use to swipe and drop to the floor if they had to.
My favorite was when the parents would tell us what amazing progress they were making at home. I used to tear up and felt for these parents so much because it was already difficult for them and now, they can trust and rely on ABA and the therapists knowing their goal was ours.
By Emma Rogers, BA, RBT
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