I had intended on writing a piece today, but alas Murphy's Law came into effect today. Aiden has been producing a ton of snot - more than I thought possible for one his size AND we spent the day in the hospital due to Chris having an accident at work (he fell off of a utility pole - he works for the cable company - and messed up his knee). So, I have to resort to a generic post about Down syndrome....
**however my commentary is in italics Characteristics of Down syndrome
Although some of the physical characteristics of Down syndrome may be seen in people without the condition, a combination of certain physical traits is often a fairly easily recognizable indication to parents and physicians that a child has the condition. Although not every child with Down syndrome will carry noticeable physical characteristics, in approximately 80% of all cases, a recognizable combination of these physical traits will be present in the child or adult with Down syndrome.
Some of the most common characteristics of people with Down syndrome include:
· A flattened appearance to the face
(Aiden does not really have this feature) · A high, broad forehead
(another feature that is not prominent on Aiden) · A smaller head, proportionately
(Aiden is just small all the way around LOL!) · An upward slant to the eyes
(Aiden does have this feature, but not as prominent as some of the kiddos) · A narrow slit to the eyes
· Pronounced bags or folds under the eyes
(Aiden does have this feature, but at times more prominent than others) · A small, depressed nose
(Aiden's nose is small, but then again so is most of the proboscises in my family) · Small ears
(yeppers, but that goes along with the rest of him being small) · Ears set quite low to the face
(Aiden's is just a tad bit lower than normal) · A small mouth
(haven't really noticed that one yet) · A large or protruding tongue
(I have heard that the appearance of the "large tongue"is due to the smallness of the jaw bones and the laxity of the mouth muscles) · A short neck
· Short arms and legs
(short arms, most long sleeve shirts do require rolling up the sleeves) · Short fingers and toes
(haven't noticed that one, but Aiden's pinky fingers are curved in) · Large space between the first and second toe
(nope, but his forth toes on each foot roll under the middle toes - however this is NOT related to Down syndrome) · A single, deep crease in the center of the palm
(yep, and I think it's adorable) · Poor muscle tone (hypotonia)
(this is not applicable to Aiden unless it is selective low muscle tone during therapy sessions) · Loose joints (hyperflexability)
(the child sleeps in some of the most unusual positions and makes my back hurt. oh, and I do have to remind him often that not everyone can do the splits like he does) · Weak reflexes
(he has a pretty weak gag reflex) As stated above, any of these physical characteristics can be seen in people who do not have Down syndrome. It is the findings of a few or several of these characteristics in the same child that may prompt the parents or child’s physician to consider testing for Down syndrome. The basic rule of thumb is that if six to ten of the above-mentioned characteristics are present, the diagnosis of Down syndrome can be reasonably assumed, however a karyotype test (a test that shows the number and pairing of the chromosomes in the cells) may be performed even if a few of the physical traits are present, particularly if they are coupled with any of the medical or cognitive characteristics.
Characteristics of Down syndrome
Although some of the physical characteristics of Down syndrome may be seen in people without the condition, a combination of certain physical traits is often a fairly easily recognizable indication to parents and physicians that a child has the condition. Although not every child with Down syndrome will carry noticeable physical characteristics, in approximately 80% of all cases, a recognizable combination of these physical traits will be present in the child or adult with Down syndrome.
Some of the most common characteristics of people with Down syndrome include:
· A flattened appearance to the face (Aiden does not really have this feature)
· A high, broad forehead (another feature that is not prominent on Aiden)
· A smaller head, proportionately (Aiden is just small all the way around LOL!)
· An upward slant to the eyes (Aiden does have this feature, but not as prominent as some of the kiddos)
· A narrow slit to the eyes
· Pronounced bags or folds under the eyes (Aiden does have this feature, but at times more prominent than others)
· A small, depressed nose (Aiden's nose is small, but then again so is most of the proboscises in my family)
· Small ears (yeppers, but that goes along with the rest of him being small)
· Ears set quite low to the face (Aiden's is just a tad bit lower than normal)
· A small mouth (haven't really noticed that one yet)
· A large or protruding tongue (I have heard that the appearance of the "large tongue"
is due to the smallness of the jaw bones and the laxity of the mouth muscles)
· A short neck
· Short arms and legs (short arms, most long sleeve shirts do require rolling up the sleeves)
· Short fingers and toes (haven't noticed that one, but Aiden's pinky fingers are curved in)
· Large space between the first and second toe (nope, but his forth toes on each foot roll under the middle toes - however this is NOT related to Down syndrome)
· A single, deep crease in the center of the palm (yep, and I think it's adorable)
· Poor muscle tone (hypotonia) (this is not applicable to Aiden unless it is selective low muscle tone during therapy sessions)
· Loose joints (hyperflexability) (the child sleeps in some of the most unusual positions and makes my back hurt. oh, and I do have to remind him often that not everyone can do the splits like he does)
· Weak reflexes (he has a pretty weak gag reflex)
As stated above, any of these physical characteristics can be seen in people who do not have Down syndrome. It is the findings of a few or several of these characteristics in the same child that may prompt the parents or child’s physician to consider testing for Down syndrome. The basic rule of thumb is that if six to ten of the above-mentioned characteristics are present, the diagnosis of Down syndrome can be reasonably assumed, however a karyotype test (a test that shows the number and pairing of the chromosomes in the cells) may be performed even if a few of the physical traits are present, particularly if they are coupled with any of the medical or cognitive characteristics.