Discovery task, Down Syndrome (Health)

 For health, we have been working on a discovery task around a topic of our choice that somehow affects our health and wellbeing in any way. I chose to work around down syndrome. How it affected the person with it and the others that lived or had this person in their life. I talk about the complications down syndrome has and the assumptions made about a person with down syndrome. I also talked about the mental health complications down syndrome may have and how society views a person with down syndrome.

Here is my essay I wrote about down syndrome.

Down syndrome is influenced by advanced maternal aging, women over 35 have an

increased chance of having down syndrome children because older eggs have a greater

chance of irregular chromosome division, either gender possessing the genetic translocation

of down syndrome, after the birth of 1 child with down syndrome it becomes higher risk of a

future child having down syndrome as well. 

Possible consequences of having down syndrome are Heart defects, gastrointestinal defects,

immune disorders, sleep apnea, obesity, spinal problems, leukemia, dementia, dental problems,

seizures, ear infections, hearing, and vision inefficiencies.

There is no way to prevent down syndrome however you can visit a genetic health doctor to

discuss the outcome and issues that down syndrome has on a child and to examine the

probability of your child having down syndrome.

A person with down syndrome struggles to learn and has issues with their memory.

They also struggle with their speech and later in life have cognitive issues that relate to

Alzheimer's disease.   

Close family and friends will have to be patient when talking to their friend or family member

with down syndrome as they may struggle to pronounce a word or they speak slowly.

Doing regular activities may take someone with down syndrome longer to

comprehend and actually do so patience has to be required there as well.

It affects anyone who interacts with this person the same way as it does to

family members and close friends in a social aspect.

The spiritual well-being may not be affected and I’ve already noted the social

effects of down syndrome. Physical effects: maybe the extra time it takes them to

perform basic tasks or play sports. Mental health would be similar to the person

without down syndrome however they may have more sudden outbursts and be

more sensitive to things said and acted.

The short and long-term effects of down syndrome are very similar. Things like height can be

affected by down syndrome causing the average male and female to be taller than a person

with down syndrome. 

What is down syndrome?

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that appears when abnormal cell divisions result

in the extra genetic material in the 21st chromosome.

Down syndrome commonly influenced by genetics. If either parent has down syndrome

it becomes more likely for the child to be born with down syndrome.

This has many consequences which range from health issues to slowed

brain growth and body development. The social life of someone with down

syndrome would be affected as they may have struggles forming sentences

or trying to pronounce words or letters. The social life of those with down syndrome

isn’t massively affected. 

The environment they are raised in can massively affect how they interact with others

and their confidence.

It is assumed that only older people have children with down syndrome. It's assumed

that a person with down syndrome will ruin a marriage or relationship. It’s assumed a

person with down syndrome has negative effects on family members such as siblings,

parents, or anyone, family member or not that is with a person with down syndrome a lot.

People think that someone with down syndrome is destined to die young.
Parents, caregivers, a medical assistant or professional, siblings, friends are all

involved in taking care of a person with down syndrome.  

A person with down syndrome may have slowed brain development. Motor skills may be

slowed. The process of learning how to drive may take longer than the average person.

A person with down syndrome may have memory, speech, and learning struggles and the

increased chance of cognitive problems such as Alzheimer’s disease also apply to a person

with down syndrome. 

To look after someone with down syndrome they must be in an environment where they are

free to learn and socialize safely. Try to keep them occupied and doing something to increase

brain use and development. Try to keep them learning as much and as often as possible.

Here are some strategies about how to take care of someone with down syndrome.

Allowing the person to socialize without judgement	This will help the mental and social wellbeing of the person
Give this person the ability to learn at a slower rate	This could help all 4 areas of wellbeing. They could learn how to play sports or basic math or literacy. They could learn about a religion or something they want to or do believe in and this could keep them occupied and happy
Provide any other support the person may need	That could help with any learning, physical activity or relieving their stress. It could help all areas of wellbeing.

Finding the information wasn't extremely hard however writing it and trying not to repeat the same thing proved a challenge. I tried to keep finding new sources that could give me new information. I worked pretty well with this task but at times there was so much info to take in. Next time I plan to take it a bit slower and focus on 1 thing at a time to get it done to the best quality. I am proud of the information at the start of the essay as it doesn't repeat itself and has a good description.