Angay natong higugmaon kining mga batang ingon niani, kining dili kalakaw…ug kining mga mongoloid (We should love children like these, those who cannot walk…and these mongoloids.).”
Such was the statement of a mayor in one of the towns in my province.
The word Mongoloid is often used to describe children who have Down Syndrome, a condition where the individual has, in addition to the 23 pairs of chromosomes that are normally present, a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. This additional genetic material causes the characteristics associated with the syndrome: slanted eyes, flat nasal bridge, small chin a relatively larger tongue and poor muscle tone.
The term was used by John Langdon Down, a physician who first investigated the condition in 1862, noting that the children who had it looked similar to those from the Mongolian race. However, in 1965, after a request from the Mongolian (those from Mongolia) delegation, the World Health Organization dropped it and used the now more acceptable Children or Persons with Down Syndrome.
Children with Down Syndrome, aside from the previously mentioned characteristics, may also exhibit other signs such as a single crease of the palm, a flat and wide face and a short neck. Intellectual disability is common and may range from mild to severe. Developmental milestones are usually delayed and children may developmentally lag behind most of their peers. Other complications may include hearing and vision impairments, seizures, congenital heart and gastro-intestinal problems, gingivitis and teeth problems.
Screening for the condition can be done prenatally through ultrasound imaging and blood tests, which can be confirmed though more invasive though very risky techniques such as amniocentesis ( ) or chorionic villus sampling.
After birth, diagnosis can be based on the child’s physical appearance and confirmed through an analysis of the child’s chromosomes. Newborn screening cannot detect the condition.
Children with Down Syndrome need a good family environment in order to thrive, same with other children. And just like all other children, they can benefit greatly from Early Childhood Interventions as well as from relevant and meaningful education. Treatment for accompanying medical complications such as heart and gastrointestinal problems will lengthen life span. Recent medical advances have caused increased survival rates up to 50-60 years old.
Persons with Down Syndrome in developed countries are not seen anymore as helpless individuals. A few of them are making waves in the fields of sports, modelling, art and theater. Some have even graduated from college; a number are holding paid jobs either on a full or part-time basis. Still others have gotten married to partners who have the same condition and have borne children.
In other words, they are trying to live as normally as possible given their limitations. But this is only possible in environments where they are seen and valued as having the same rights as all other members of society.
In our society however, Persons with Down Syndrome are mostly still viewed as useless, “only trainable but not educable”, as stated by one Special Education teacher. Thus they have their special schools, their own special events.
In keeping them separate from the others, maybe we are sparing them from failure, from embarrassment, from the cruelty of other students, of society in general. Their rights notwithstanding, maybe this is a fair enough approach…On the other hand, when we deny them their rights, maybe we are missing out on their potential, on what they are truly capable of when challenged.
The truly meaningful way may not dawn on us until after the community and all its institutions shall have gone beyond their comfort zones and dare to treat Persons with Down Syndrome as real people, not perpetual kids. Unless we reach this ability to look at this unique group of individuals this way, those slanted eyes and wide face will always be seen as a sign of low intelligence, of disability rather than ability, of inferiority rather than equality.
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Author’s email: GPrehab@yahoo.com
