Read complete books and articles on: Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome - congenital disorder characterized by mild to severe mental retardation, slow physical development, and characteristic physical features. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 1,000 live births and occurs in all populations equally. It was first described in 1866 by an English physician, J. Langdon Down. In 1959 a French physician, Jerome Lejeune, discovered that the syndrome was caused by an extra chromosome. It was later discovered that this extra chromosome appears as a third chromosome attached to the 21st of the 23 pairs of chromosomes normally present in the human genome. This third chromosome gives rise to the alternate name trisomy 21.

The extra genetic material is responsible for the physical characteristics of the syndrome: low muscle tone, flattish facial features, an upward slant to the eyes and epicanthal folds (which were the basis for the former name, mongolism), a single crease across the palm, hyperflexibility of the joints, and a displastic middle phalanx on the fifth finger. People with Down syndrome have an increased incidence of infection, childhood leukemia, congenital heart defects, and respiratory problems, but modern medical treatment has improved the life expectancy from 9 (in 1910) to 55 (in 1995).

Mental retardation varies widely, from minimal to severe. The great majority of those who have the disorder attend public schools and as adults can live independently or in group homes. After age 35 individuals with the syndrome develop the neurological changes of Alzheimer's disease, and many develop the dementia that accompanies them.

Eighty percent of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age, but the incidence of Down syndrome births does increase with age. Approximately 5% of cases are transmitted by the sperm. Amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling can be used to detect the disorder in the fetus. Children born to women with Down syndrome have a 50% chance of having the disorder.

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14 of the Best Books and Articles on: Down Syndrome

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Families and Their Children with Down's Syndrome: One Feature in Common » Read Now
by Elizabeth A. Byrne, Cliff C. Cunningham, Patricia Sloper. 160 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library
2.

Early Intervention in Transition: Current Perspectives on Programs for Handicapped Children (Chap. 3 "Down Syndrome and Cognitive Enhancement: Not like the Others") » Read Now
by Kofi Marfo. 354 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

The growing prominence of ecological and social systems perspectives in the child development and family studies fields is having a significant impact on the conceptualization and delivery of early intervention services. The exclusive focus on the handicapped or developmentally delayed child is...
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The growing prominence of ecological and social systems perspectives in the child development and family studies fields is having a significant impact on the conceptualization and delivery of early intervention services. The exclusive focus on the handicapped or developmentally delayed child is gradually giving way to a much broader focus on the family as a system. This book brings together the conceptual and empirical work of a number of scholars whose current research is at the leading edge of these shifts. Marfo's volume has an international appeal--but perhaps more significantly it affords American researchers a unique opportunity to learn more about the intervention field.
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3.

Emotional Development in Atypical Children (Chap. 6 "Expression and Understanding of Emotion in Atypical Development: Autism and Down Syndrome") » Read Now
by Michael Lewis, Margaret Wolan Sullivan. 286 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library

...Atypical Development: Autism and Down Syndrome Connie Kasari and Marion...For example, in infants with Down syndrome, the onset of smiling is known...age, developmentally...
4.

Developmental Language Disorders: From Phenotypes to Etiologies (Chap. 5 "Language, Social Cognition, Maladaptive Behavior, and Communication in Down Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome") » Read Now
by Mabel L. Rice, Steven F. Warren. 411 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

Developmental Language Disorders: From Phenotypes to Etiologies is based on the recent conference of the same name sponsored by the Merrill Advanced Studies Center of the University of Kansas. In the past 10 years, considerable advances have taken place in our understanding of genetic and...
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Developmental Language Disorders: From Phenotypes to Etiologies is based on the recent conference of the same name sponsored by the Merrill Advanced Studies Center of the University of Kansas. In the past 10 years, considerable advances have taken place in our understanding of genetic and environmental influences on language disorders in children. Significant research in behavioral phenotypes, associated neurocortical processes, and the genetics of language disorders has laid the foundation for further breakthroughs in understanding the reasons for overlapping etiologies, as well as the unique aspects of some phenotypes. Too often the findings are disseminated in a fragmented way because of the discrete diagnostic categories of affectedness. This volume attempts to assimilate and integrate the findings of the transdisciplinary research toward a more coherent picture of behavioral descriptions, brain imaging studies, genetics, and intervention technologies in language impairment. The contributing authors are all scholars with active programs of research funded by the National Institutes of Health involving diverse clinical groups of children with language impairments.
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5.

Contrasting Profiles of Language Development in Children with Williams and Down Syndromes, in Developmental Neuropsychology » Read Now
by Naomi G. Singer Harris, Ursula Bellugi, Elizabeth Bates, Wendy Jones, Michael Rossen. 27 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library

...in Children With Williams and Down Syndromes Naomi G. Singer Harris...with Williams syndrome (WMS) and Down syndrome (DNS) were given the MacArthur...linguistic structures...
6.

Intervention to Improve Expressive Grammar for Adults with Down Syndrome, in Communication Disorders Quarterly » Read Now
by Lynne E. Hewitt, Angela S. Hinkle, Adele W. Miccio. 11 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library
7.

Beyond Names for Things: Young Children's Acquisition of Verbs (Chap. Eleven "Syntactic Bootstrapping from Start to Finish with Special Reference to Down Syndrome") » Read Now
by Michael Tomasello, William E. Merriman. 428 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

...Finish with Special Reference to Down Syndrome 299 12 Missing...of children and adolescents with Down syndrome sheds considerable light on the...language--four spatial...
8.

What General Educators Have to Say about Successfully Including Students with Down Syndrome in Their Classes, in Journal of Research in Childhood Education » Read Now
by Gloria Wolpert. 11 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

...successfully including students with down syndrome in their classes by Gloria...the inclusion of children with Down syndrome who have been rated as successful...list...
9.

Behavioral Phenotypes and Special Education: Parent Report of Educational Issues for Children with Down Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome, and Williams Syndrome, in Journal of Special Education » Read Now
by Deborah J. Fidler, Robert M. Hodapp, Elizabeth M. Dykens. 9 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library

...educational issues for children with Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and Williams...three genetic mental retardation syndromes: Down syndrome (n = 21)...
10.

Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America (Chap. 10 "The Unexpected Baby") » Read Now
by Rayna Rapp. 361 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Rich with the voices and stories of participants, these touching, firsthand accounts examine how women of diverse racial, ethnic, class and religious backgrounds perceive prenatal testing, the most prevalent and routinized of the new reproducing technologies. Based on the author's decade of research...
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Rich with the voices and stories of participants, these touching, firsthand accounts examine how women of diverse racial, ethnic, class and religious backgrounds perceive prenatal testing, the most prevalent and routinized of the new reproducing technologies. Based on the author's decade of research and her own personal experiences with amniocentesis, Testing Women, Testing the Fetus explores the "geneticization" of family life in all its complexity and diversity.
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11.

Perceptions of Child Attachment and Maternal Gratification in Mothers of Children with Autism and Down Syndrome, in Journal of Clinical Child Psychology » Read Now
by Kimberly Hoppes, Sandra L. Harris. 6 pgs.

Collections: Education, Psychology, Entire Library

...Mothers of Children With Autism and Down Syndrome Kimberly Hoppes and Sandra...and 21 mothers of children with Down syndrome. As predicted, there was...
12.

Personality and Motivational Differences in Persons with Mental Retardation ("Direct Effects on Personality-Motivational Functioning: The Example of Down Syndrome" begins on p. 263) » Read Now
by Harvey N. Switzky. 414 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

This book presents the most comprehensive review of research regarding personality and motivational differences in persons with mental retardation. From the personal commentary of Edward Zigler, H. Carl Haywood, and Harvey N. Switzky, the book summarizes the classical work of the Yale and...
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This book presents the most comprehensive review of research regarding personality and motivational differences in persons with mental retardation. From the personal commentary of Edward Zigler, H. Carl Haywood, and Harvey N. Switzky, the book summarizes the classical work of the Yale and Peabody-Vanderbilt School over the last 40 years. A sampling of new directions in research is provided, including work on self-determination theory and practice; decision making; direct and indirect effects of genetic mental retardation syndromes on personality; personality and psychopathology in genetic mental retardation syndromes; a new theory of information processing linking cognition, motivation, and performance; and a sensitivity theory of motivation. This definitive work presents older and evolving newer models and applications to the field in order to demonstrate the power of motivational variables in understanding the behavior of persons with mental retardation. The purpose is to enhance the quality of life in persons with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.
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13.

Progress in Infancy Research, Vol. 1 (Chap. 3 "Down Syndrome: Neuropsychology and Animal Models") » Read Now
by Carolyn Rovee-Collier, Lewis P. Lipsitt, Harlene Hayne. 314 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library
14.

Children with Down Syndrome: Discovering the Joy of Movement, in JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance » Read Now
by Anne Jobling, Naznin Virji-Babul, Doug Nichols. 5 pgs.

Collections: Education, Entire Library