11 (b). Childhood Disorders ( Part 2/2)

Down syndrome:
1 in 691 babies in the USA is born with Down syndrome. There are around 6,000 cases of Down syndrome each year in the USA.  Down syndrome is also referred to as trisomy-21. During the time of conception, an extra copy of chromosome 21 is created. Neuroscientists have not found out the reason for this but there seems to be a linkage with the age of the mother.  Symptoms of Down syndrome are usually physical. Some symptoms of Down syndrome are a space between the 1st and 2nd toe, an abnormally shaped ear, a small mouth and a large tongue, an upward slant to the eyes and joint laxity.  There is no current cure for Down syndrome. However, Neuroscientist is working to find the role of chromosome 21 in human development.



​Dyslexia:                             
80% of all learning disabilities are cases of Dyslexia.  People with Dyslexia have normal IQ and regular levels of motivation.  Dyslexia is caused by a defect in the language system called phonology. Some symptoms are a lack in taking fluently, a hard time retrieving words; they hesitate before responding (this is because they cannot think of the right words to say) and they often mis-pronounce words. A typical brain uses 3 parts of the brain to read. These parts are the Broca’s Area, Parieto Temporal and the Occipital Temporal. The Broca’s Area works with saying the words on the page as well as word analysis. The Parieto Temporal works with word analysis as well and the Occipital Temporal helps with word form. However, a Dyslexic brain only uses the Broca’s Area. This lead to a loss of word form as well as a limitation of word analysis as well as other issues. The treatment for Dyslexia often composes of practice reading stories as well as teaching the child to read using phonics.