Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

thenewatlantis.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 155 posts

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#111

Post by remlov »

Daub wrote: post #11

I worked in a residential community consisting of many young people with various disabilities. Most of these had Down’s syndrome. From the OP... > Individuals with Down syndrome generally have outstanding social skills... Dam right! They were amongst the most compassionate, loving and witty people I have ever met. I remain humbled at their extraordinary humanity. Other things the articles mentions are also true. Cert…

I am 37, male, and can place both palms on the floor without bending my knees. I am definitely average in health and am sure this isn't unique, however, I am not discounting ligament laxity which is prevalent in individuals with Down syndrome.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#112

Post by nemo44x »

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #109
nemo44x wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah when the blastocyst is a few days old they can extract a few cells and cryogenically freeze the remaining blastocyst with minimal chance of having ruined it. Those cells are sent to a lab and screened for many chromosome and genetic defects. In fact, ahead of time the IVF clinic will get blood from mom and dad as well as saliva swabs from their parents to build a model on genetic compatibility. For example, the…

> Yeah when the blastocyst is a few days old they can extract a few cells and cryogenically freeze the remaining blastocyst with minimal chance of having ruined it. Those cells are sent to a lab and screened for many chromosome and genetic defects. Would that part would be different from in utero tests? (short of the freezing of course) It has been 15 years that we did the tests (on amniotic fluid) so the world must…

I’m not sure on the first question but I imagine that yes, the same types of tests are conducted.

As for any to-be parents - yes and I’d recommend it. You may find you both carry a relatively rare recessive gene that would give your offspring a 25% of having a certain disorder. This can guide your decision on if you want to go forward with natural fertilization and risk it (and make the choice after testing the cells of the developing baby) or opt for IVF to prevent the disorder (and all others that are testable). In parents that don’t have infertility problems, IVF is pretty successful. Especially if the mother is still in prime form (under 35 great but under 30 is spectacular) and the father doesn’t have poor sperm count and/or quality.

For the last one I err towards it being a personal liberty to decide what life you do and do not bring into the world. But it does get more hairy when you start discussing public support in terms of resources to support the child/family. Then it is everyone’s business imo. But I’d imagine people that can afford IVF don’t rely on government programs to finance their life.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#113

Post by 83457 »

BobbyJo wrote: post #104
83457 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it wrong to say they look alike? There are just times where there is such commonality in a group due to genetic abnormalities and other factors that descriptions are more a fact than a stereotype.

Wrong ? No. But definitely pointless and insensitive. Common genetic factors causing similar phenotypes isn't a novel, or even interesting, thought.

Is it pointless and insensitive for a scientific manual to indicate that all individuals with a certain genetic disorder look incredibly similar across races and genders?

My point is that there is a difference between stereotyping races/cultures/disabled and indicating highly correlated attributes in individuals with specific genetic/chromisonal abnormalities.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#114

Post by smabie »

canam wrote: post #46
2lwxxtj wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it "damning on society"? Raising normal children is already a massive time commitment, and at the end you get a functioning adult that you don't have to take care of, and which can give you grand children. Why would anyone want a child that takes even more time and has to be taken care of for its entire life?

As the parent of a child with Down Syndrome who is also autistic, I can say it is wonderful experience. He brings us great joy and love, despite his unique needs. I couldn't imagine that anyone who met him thinks he doesn't deserve to exist.

What does this mean? Like you don't think people should have the choice to abort?

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#115

Post by watwut »

remlov wrote: post #111
Daub wrote: post #11

I worked in a residential community consisting of many young people with various disabilities. Most of these had Down’s syndrome. From the OP... > Individuals with Down syndrome generally have outstanding social skills... Dam right! They were amongst the most compassionate, loving and witty people I have ever met. I remain humbled at their extraordinary humanity. Other things the articles mentions are also true. Cert…

I am 37, male, and can place both palms on the floor without bending my knees. I am definitely average in health and am sure this isn't unique, however, I am not discounting ligament laxity which is prevalent in individuals with Down syndrome.

It is not unique, but it is definitely rare. Like, super rare.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#116

Post by jxramos »

Daub wrote: post #31
yhoneycomb wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious could you give examples of them being witty?

Always wanting to subvert serious situation. For example... me being in a bad mood having to get up at 5.00am to milk the cows, and this Downs boy looking up at me with a crazy big-ass grin that would completely wipe all sour thoughts from my mind. They play with language in a very disarming manner. Not highbrow, but will find compelling nicknames for their loved ones and deliver them in a way that is difficult not t…

I've always pondered the "genetic utility" if you will of downs folks. I could imagine they play a real "symbiotic relationship" with their familial cohorts bringing lighthearted joy and other social softeners that add brightness to a group. It does come with costs however like people say with lifetime care, but the fact that these loving genetic subpopulations persist makes me wonder if they are not in fact anomalies but part of a richer fabric.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#117

Post by Daub »

remlov wrote: post #111
Daub wrote: post #11

I worked in a residential community consisting of many young people with various disabilities. Most of these had Down’s syndrome. From the OP... > Individuals with Down syndrome generally have outstanding social skills... Dam right! They were amongst the most compassionate, loving and witty people I have ever met. I remain humbled at their extraordinary humanity. Other things the articles mentions are also true. Cert…

I am 37, male, and can place both palms on the floor without bending my knees. I am definitely average in health and am sure this isn't unique, however, I am not discounting ligament laxity which is prevalent in individuals with Down syndrome.

If you don’t exercise, I am impressed. Actually, I can do it to. But this is because I have Ehlers Danlos syndrom (hyper mobility). This guy I am referring to would actually adopt the pose when he was relaxing. It was as natural to him as folding his arms.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#118

Post by watwut »

gadders wrote: post #48
nvarsj wrote: post #6

I think that Down Syndrome is a very misunderstood syndrome. The way it makes you look dominates how people think about you, without even knowing you. I interact with someone online who has Down Syndrome. It really changed my understanding of it. He can articulate very well when writing, and has a deep passion and understanding on some topics we discuss (like music...). If he hadn't of told me he had Down Syndrome I…

I always thought there was a certain tension between being against aborting babies with Downs Syndrome but being OK for healthy babies being aborted for lifestyle reasons. [Not OP specifically, just something I have observed]

That is because what you call "lifestyle reasons" as if we talked about slight unimportant change in lifestyle are actually massively life changing limitations. With lifelong consequences you won't ever be able to avoid and oftentimes literally end of your life as you knew it.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#119

Post by watwut »

mensetmanusman wrote: post #68

Interesting how scientific technology gets used in various cultures. Ultrasounds are illegal in some countries because people abort based on gender due to their cultural view of humanity. Western secular society looks at humans more as mechanistic units in an economic machine instead of as spiritual beings with inherent value, so it’s no surprise that 90% of downs tests result in an abortion.

It is more of parents making these decisions based on what their lives would be. And practically, having disabled child is not easy.

Re: At Home with Down Syndrome (2008)

#120

Post by nemo44x »

itsananderson wrote: post #93
nemo44x wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many of these types of words had functional use at one time. If you check Ellis Island immigration records you’ll see people classified as “idiots”, “imbeciles”, “morons”, and other similar terms based on an aptitude test administrated. Those 3 terms describe different levels of perceived intelligence. Of course as they often do, these terms of classification became derogatory after people used them as an insult.

"idiot" may have been a relatively innocent medical term, but "mongoloid" has a very racist history as a way to describe people with Down Syndrome ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_idiocy ), including a popular pseudoscientific theory that people with Down's were a result of "Caucasian" interbreeding with supposedly more primitive "Mongoloid" races https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mongol_in_Our_Midst

Indeed and many of the terms, like “idiot” were pseudoscientific as well. Done and justified “by science” but this is not a condemnation of the scientific method. In fact, it further proves liberal science is the best known approach to knowledge and truth as it leaves open that bad science can be crushed by better science. I hope we continue this way however anti liberal science our politics are today.
Post reply on HN