Characteristics of Children with Down Syndrome
Characteristics are separated into two categories; physical features and health issues. Although there are several physical signs associated with Down’s syndrome, there are none that exactly define it. Some infants may have only a few of these characteristics, whereas others have many.
Physical features
![Picture](/uploads/1/9/2/6/19267151/1964854.jpeg)
People with Down syndrome can exhibit particular facial characteristics which include:
Other characteristics include:
- An upward slant to the eyes;
- Small skin folds on the inner corner of the eye;
- Depressed nasal bridge and a small nose;
- A short wide neck;
- Small folded ears;
- A small mouth which gives the appearance of a large tongue;
- Excessive space between the second and large toe.
Other characteristics include:
- Poor muscle tone (hypotonia);
- A single deep crease that goes directly across the palm of the hand.
Health Issues
- Intellectual disability;
- Congenital heart defects which affects almost half of babies born with Down syndrome;
- Intestinal malformations;
- Vision problems are found in 60 per cent of children;
- Hearing problems and hearing loss that affects up to 75 per cent of children;
- Respiratory problems;
- Increased susceptibility to infection;
- Other genetic links associated with Down syndrome include cataracts, leukaemia and Alzheimer’s disease (Burns & Gunn, 1993).
Massimini (2000) indicates that most of these health problems are treatable and life expectancy according to the Mater Mother’s Hospital (2012) is approximately 60 years.
Image References
Image retrieved on May 4, 2013 from The Equals Rights Center
Image retrieved on May 4, 2013 from The Equals Rights Center