Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome Down syndrome is a combination of birth defects including some degree of mental retardation and characteristic facial features. It is also called trisomy 21. Down syndrome occurs when there is an abnormality in chromosome 21. It is found in approximately 1 out of 1000 all live births. Each year, 3,000 to 5,000 people are diagnosed with Down syndrome in the United States. The formal story began in 1866, when a physician named John Langdon Down first described a set of …

…compromise the quality of that care. It is important that society develop attitudes that will permit people with Down syndrome to participate in community life and to be accepted. They should be offered a status that observes their rights and privileges as citizens, and in a real sense preserves their human dignity. When accorded their rights and treated with dignity, people with Down syndrome will, in turn, provide society with a most valuable humanizing influence.