Rousseau Learning about World Down Syndrome Day (March 21st)

Students in Ms Fawcett’s Grade 6 class researched World Down Syndrome Day (March 21st) and presented information to Grade 1-6 (#wdsd18 #wouldntchangeathing #WorldDownSyndromeDay)

Click here to see the slides presentation (best on computer):
Rousseau – World Down Syndrome Day (google slides)

Grade 1-5 Questions about World Down Syndrome Day & the answers we found

Q – Do some places have a higher chance of babies being born with Down syndrome compared to other places?

A – Whether or not a baby is born with Down Syndrome is related to the age of the baby’s mother (e.g. a mother in her 20’s is less likely to have a baby with Down Syndrome compared to a mother in her 40’s). A new study found that a father’s older age can also affect this. The United States has the highest population of  people born with down syndrome in the world.

Are more girls or more boys born with Down Syndrome?
A – There is about an equal number of girls and boys born with Down Syndrome.

Q- Who discovered Down Syndrome?
A – Down syndrome was named after Doctor John Langdon Down who discovered that people with Dow Syndrome have oe extra chromosome (a duplicate of chromosome #21).

Q – Did Dr. Down have Down Syndrome?
A – No, He did not, but because he discovered Down Syndrome, it was named after him.  

Q – Why does the World Down Syndrome logo have the number 21 and why does World Down Syndrome Day take place on March 21st?
A – Most people have 23 chromosomes in their DNA. People with Down Syndrome have 24 chromosomes in the their DNA — they have an extra chromosome #21.

Q –  Why does the World Down Syndrome Day google slides presentation have a picture of people wearing different (mismatched) socks? Why do people wear mismatched socks on World Down Syndrome Day?
A – People wear mismatched socks on World Down Syndrome Day so that they can show that everyone is different and that it is okay to be different.

Q – Is Down Syndrome like autism?
A – No, not at all!
Down Syndrome and Autism are entirely different conditions.
      A person with Down Syndrome has slow physical development and slow learning. People with Down Syndrome have certain features the same as other people witih Down Syndrome (e.g., small ears and mouth, flat facial features, upward slanting eyes, impulsive behaviour).
    People with autism do not have an delays in their physical development. They have the same physical development, learning speed,  appearance and behaviour all the other people that don’t have Down Syndrome. Read more about Autism here: https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism (Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd — wear blue that day to show your appreciation of people with autism!)

Q – Do people with Down Syndrome have a different life expectancy than people that don’t have the syndrome?
A –  People with Down Syndrome can live up to about 60 years old. As recently as 1983, the age expectancy was only 25 years old. We infer that advances in medicine and health care in the last thirty years have increased life expectancy for people with Down Syndrome.

To see the contributions that people with Down Syndrome make to their communities, search the following hashtag on Twitter & Instagram for photos & videos:  #whatibringtomycommunity