Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Dr. Fazıl Küçük Medicine Faculty academic staff member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Güzoğlu wrote an article titled “Down Syndrome: Difference, Not Disease” on the occasion of 21 March, World Down Syndrome Awareness Day. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güzoğlu included the following statements in her article:
“Individuals with Down Syndrome, drawing attention with their slightly slanted eyes and smiles, are not sick; they are only genetically different. Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21), which is the most common chromosomal difference in the world, is observed in approximately one in 700-800 births.
"World Down Syndrome Awareness Day" is observed worldwide every year on 21 March. While humans have one pair of each chromosome, individuals with Down's syndrome have three of the 21st chromosome. For this reason, the 21st of the third month has been chosen as the awareness day. The purpose of the awareness day is to draw attention to the fact that people with Down Syndrome are as valuable and special as every individual of the society, and that they have a natural right to have equal rights in life without being marginalized.
Those with Down Syndrome in their family and mothers who conceive at an advanced age have a higher risk of having a baby affected by Down Syndrome. However, mothers who conceive at a young age may also have children with Down Syndrome. During pregnancy, the mother does not feel any symptoms of having a baby with Down Syndrome. However, it can be detected by screening tests performed in the early and mid-periods of pregnancy.
Babies also have certain physical characteristics such as slanting eyes, large tongue, short neck, and weak muscles at birth. However, these features are at varying degrees in each baby, and not every baby with Down Syndrome is exactly alike. She or he has similar characteristics with his/her immediate family.
Down Syndrome often causes mental and physical developmental delays and various medical problems. There is no cure, but with the right support and education, most children with Down Syndrome can learn to walk and talk, go to school, work and live an independent or partially dependent adult life. In addition to physiotherapy, language therapy and play groups, it is extremely important to play, touch, talk, sing, read books suitable for the age, exercise and thus increase the capacity of the child in the family. In addition to the actors who act in movies, there are many individuals with Down Syndrome who have graduated from universities in recent years or who have been doing sports. Actress and singer Chris Burke; AnnaRose Rubright, a university graduate from the radio and television department, and the world and European athletics champion Ali Topaloğlu are good examples of understanding the development of individuals with Down Syndrome who are supported with the right type of training.
