Treatment for Down Syndrome Individuals

There is no treatment that will cure or reverse the affects of the genetic condition known as Down Syndrome. There are treatments for the complications of the condition. The complications are physical in nature and range from respiratory, thyroid involvement, cardiac issues, speech, vision and auditory and gastrointestinal problems, and learning and developmental issues. Each complication has its own treatments that work best. Each condition can vary in intensity.

There are a host of health care professionals that get involved in caring for the individual with Down Syndrome including speech, physical and occupational therapists, doctors, surgeons, immuniologists, cardiologists and gastrointerologists.

School can be an important place where children with Down Syndrome can learn social skills, can receive sensory stimulation, learn how to develop muscle control and achieve academic and physical skill success. They can learn how to function better and become more independent.

Physical Characteristics:

There are physical characteristics of a person with Down Syndrome which one can recognize by looking at a person with the syndrome.

Small head that is usually flattened in the back

Slanted eyes

Extra skin folds at the corners of the eyes

Small ears, nose and mouth

Short Stature (height)

Small hands and feet

Mental Characteristic:

There is a range regarding mental disability that may be mild to severe. Intervention is key to making progress with mental development.

The physical characteristics themselves do not require any treatment. The individual can function with these characteristics. The physical characteristics merely aid the physicians in making the initial diagnosis. They are usually the first clue that leads the physician to explore the possibility of Down Syndrome further by conducting chromosomal testing.

Medical Complications:

Cardiac complications may require immediate surgery or ongoing surgeries and medical interventions.

Weight for newborns is usually within normal limits at birth but then they tend to slowly lose momentum weight-wise. It is important for babies and young children to have proper nutrition. As individuals with Down Syndrome age, they tend to put on excess weight. Nutrition guidelines are important to health and weight management.

Intervention support programs will be initiated to help with physical development as well as speech and hearing. Activities can be planned to stimulate mental development as well as to learn social, physical and academic skills. Down Syndrome individuals can lead very productive and independent lives with support and guidance.

Fifty percent of babies born with Down Syndrome will have congenital heart disease. In their first year of life babies with Down Syndrome may also face other emergencies such as those from duodenal atresia or Hirschsprung's disease.

Hearing loss is common as well as vision problems that can affect up to 70% of children with Down Syndrome. Thyroid problems are also common among those with Down Syndrome. Another common but usually unrecognised complication of Down Syndrome is sleep-related upper airway obstruction. This can occur at any age and can cause children to adapt by taking up strange sleep positions as a coping mechanism.