March 21: Day of inclusion, acceptance, awareness of Down syndrome
World Down Syndrome Day has been marked on March 21 every year since 2006 in a bid to build awareness about the disorder and promote equality and inclusion in society.
The 21st day of March was chosen to signify the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome.
Genetic materials, contained in the 21st chromosome, are responsible for controlling people’s characteristics such as eye colour, sex and organ systems.
Down syndrome systems are different depending on each person, such as problems in the nervous system, muscles, cardiovascular system, digestion, sight, hearing, growth and development.
Hence, treatment for children with Down syndrome focuses on monitoring symptoms that may affect their health. The treatment also includes measures to boost development so they can learn to adjust themselves and coexist with others happily.
Screening for Down syndrome can be done when the baby is at the foetal stage as women aged 35 and above are at risk of giving birth to babies with Down syndrome.
There are many ways to screen for the syndrome, such as ultrasound or checking the baby’s genetic material from the mother’s blood or amniotic fluid.
“Taking a Down syndrome screening during pregnancy is beneficial for mothers and families to decide on the issue,” said Maliwan Tengsujaritkul, head of Chiang Mai University's Medical Genetics Unit.
"Apart from monitoring health and honing skills, creating awareness and accepting people with Down syndrome are necessary to ensure they can live happily among ordinary people,” she added.
British physician John Langdon Down discovered the syndrome in 1866 and described it as “Mongolism”. The term Down syndrome, named after the doctor, only became more widely used in the early 1970s.
