October is Down syndrome awareness month

Today marks the first day of a 30 day challenge to blog about Down syndrome every day to bring awareness to this medical condition.  The Challenge is called "31 for 21".  The '21' stands for Trisomy 21 because Down syndrome is a condition where the person who has it has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two copies.

The name Down syndrome comes from the man who first described it, Dr. John Langdon Down.  There is no 'S' after Down in Down syndrome because Dr. Down does not own the syndrome, it is just named after his last name of Down.


There are three types of Down syndrome: Trisomy 21, Translocation Ds and Mosaic Ds.  

Trisomy 21 means the person diagnosed has three separate copies of chromosome 21 in every cell of their body.  

Translocation Ds means the person diagnosed has three copies of  chromosome 21 but the third copy of the 21st chromosome is attached to another chromosome instead of being separate.

Mosaic Down syndrome means there are three copies of the 21st chromosome is only some cell lines throughout the body and not in others.  Some people with Mosaic Ds have the third copy only in the blood line and not in the skin, marrow, brain, etc.,  while other people may have the extra copy in the brain and bone lines and not in the blood, muscle, etc. 

Down syndrome is nothing to be afraid of.  It is simply a medical diagnosis with symptoms that may need attention like any other medical diagnosis.  People who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome do not 'suffer' from it, they are just regular people living with a medical diagnosis and thriving through life with it.