What is Down Syndrome?
Down syndrome is a genetic condition that affects the mental and physical development of people with the disorder. It is the most common cause of intellectual disability and affects about 1 in 700 babies in the United States each year. Down Syndrome is a chromosomal condition that includes a combination of many birth defects and can be presented differently in various cases.
First described in a clinical research paper published in 1866, Down syndrome earned its name from the English physician John Langdon Haydon Down. The official recognition of the disorder brought with it a description of mental and physical characteristics as well as much better treatment of patients who suffered. Prior to Dr. Down’s extensive research and investigation, “people with Down syndrome and other mental and physical problems were treated very badly. They were often sent away to institutions. Many were neglected, and their medical problems went untreated.” About a decade after Down’s findings were published, two men named Frasier and Mitchell were the first to present their scientific report on Down Syndrome at a conference in Edinburgh in which they described cases of 62 different people with the disorder.
Down syndrome is a genetic condition that affects the mental and physical development of people with the disorder. It is the most common cause of intellectual disability and affects about 1 in 700 babies in the United States each year. Down Syndrome is a chromosomal condition that includes a combination of many birth defects and can be presented differently in various cases.
First described in a clinical research paper published in 1866, Down syndrome earned its name from the English physician John Langdon Haydon Down. The official recognition of the disorder brought with it a description of mental and physical characteristics as well as much better treatment of patients who suffered. Prior to Dr. Down’s extensive research and investigation, “people with Down syndrome and other mental and physical problems were treated very badly. They were often sent away to institutions. Many were neglected, and their medical problems went untreated.” About a decade after Down’s findings were published, two men named Frasier and Mitchell were the first to present their scientific report on Down Syndrome at a conference in Edinburgh in which they described cases of 62 different people with the disorder.