• Raising a Child With Down Syndrome—The Challenge and the Reward
    Awake!—2011 | June

    • What is Down syndrome (DS)?a Simply put, DS is a lifelong genetic condition that affects about 1 baby in every 730 in the United States.b Children with DS have varying degrees of learning and language disability as well as impaired motor skills, ranging from mild to severe. They also mature at a slower pace emotionally, socially, and intellectually.

      To what extent does this condition affect a child’s learning ability? Jason, who has DS, explains in the book Count Us In​—Growing Up With Down Syndrome, of which he is a coauthor: “I don’t think it’s a handicap. It’s a disability for what you’re learning because you’re learning slowly. It’s not that bad.” Yet, each child with DS is different and has his own talents. In fact, some of them are capable of learning enough to become active members of society and to enjoy a fulfilling life.

      Nothing can be done to prevent this genetic disorder​—either before or during pregnancy. DS is nobody’s fault.

  • Raising a Child With Down Syndrome—The Challenge and the Reward
    Awake!—2011 | June

    • b The name comes from John Langdon Down, an English physician who published the first accurate description of the syndrome in 1866. In 1959 the French geneticist Jérôme Lejeune discovered that DS babies are born with an extra chromosome in their cells, for a total of 47 rather than 46. Later, researchers found out that the extra chromosome was a copy of chromosome 21.