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"Health & Happiness"

© Rachael Smith

When babies are born, most families coo and fuss over the new bundle, trying to select familiar family features. Genetics deals out dad's eyes, grandma's nose, and Aunt Emily's chin. It's when there's a new and unexpected card dealt that families must quickly come to grips with a feature that wasn't inherited. Down Syndrome occurs with the addition of an extra 21st chromosome. One, tiny x-shaped chromosome comes along and suddenly, the color of the babies eyes or the shape of their mouth doesn't seem so pertinent anymore. What does the future hold for this tiny bundle? Well, with today's medical and educational advances, the future is as limitless for a child born with Down Syndrome as it is for any other child.

Nearly forty percent of babies born with Down Syndrome have heart defects ranging from mild to severe. Thankfully, many of these conditions can be repaired surgically, while the rest can be managed with medication.

While heart defects can be one of the most serious health concerns, there is a wide range of others from reflux, which results in feeding problems, to hearing and vision deficiencies. Naturally, the most commonly recognized effect of Down Syndrome is developmental and learning delays. These too, can cover a broad spectrum, with most children falling in the mild to moderate range, meaning they are mildly to moderately affected in their learning abilities.

Now, having said all of that, I feel it's important to point out that not all children with Down Syndrome have heart defects, feeding problems, or any of the other conditions that I just mentioned. They may have one, several, or none at all. Just as diabetes may run in a particular family, not all of the children may have it. There are no guarantees one way or the other. But, these health conditions aside, children with Down Syndrome do have, to some degree, learning disabilities.

I only try to make all of this clear because of the pervading stereotype of people with Down Syndrome is of someone who is overweight, with speech difficulties, whose always smiling without either a care in the world or an understanding of it. Ask even one parent of a child with Down Syndrome and you will quickly learn just how wrong this stereotype really is.

Although the common thread among children with Down Syndrome is an extra chromosome, they are as different from each other as any classroom full of children would be. Sure, many kids with Down Syndrome tend to be happy and kind, but I see this as a blessing since I can't begin to count how many times my daughter has had to endure a painful medical procedure only to come out smiling and forgiving any pain inflicted upon her. But, she also has days when she'd rather spit on me than mind what I say and I figure that evens the scale a bit.

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