Approaches to Brain and Educational Research in Down Syndrome

Elaine Bonorato

Down syndrome

Definition

Karyotype for most people with Down syndrome

Glenn Doman

Doman-Delacato early intervention

Early intervention for Patrick—program includes patterning, masking, flash cards for reading, patterns, cold and warm touch, rough and smooth touch

Book—What to do about your brain injured child…

Fidler and Nadel’s research

Extra chromosome causes particular brain damage seen after nine months, very little seen at birthDamaged areas include cortex, hippocampus, neocortex, and cerebellumRapid forgetting—short term memory loss, caused prenatally by damage to hippocampus

Fidler and Nadel (cont)

Auditory memory deficits caused by damage to planum temporale or auditory memory cortex

Hearing loss in 65-80% of persons with DS

Education should be in inclusive environment

Reading skills a strength

Visual learnersPatricia Oelwein’s book and DVD—Teaching Reading to Children with DSProgram first of its kind—only children with DS (in 1960s)—University of WashingtonPersonal sight words, personal books, word banks, word games

Genetic Research

Gave mice the extra chromosome

All changes associated with the syndrome

Facial features

Motor difficulties

Neuron damage—including the plaques seen in Alzheimer’s disease

Poor muscle tone

Genetic research (cont)

Treatment—GABAA receptor antagonist drugs

Exercise and physical therapy

Patrick is very active in sports

More genetic research

Vicari, et. al. found that children with Williams syndrome (have missing portion of a chromosome) and children with DS learn differently

Explanation in DS—normal basal ganglia

WS—atrophied basal ganglia

Down syndrome—more spatial abilities

Control group matched for mental age—creates problems

Dr. Libby Kumin

One of most famous speech and language pathologists in USResearch devoted to DSNeed training in how to attend, look at others, and listen—not automaticSensory overload Learning difficulties—generalization, short term auditory memory, expressive language, abstractions

Lieber & Rejke (2002) Netherlands

Studied several syndromes cause neurological impairmentsDown syndrome, CP, and Rubinstein-Taybi (16th chromosome)Many interventions—Doman-Delacato, Bobath intervention, Feuerstein’s Individual Enrichment Program, Option method (Kaufman & Kaufman)

Leiber & Rijke (cont)

Some parents did their own program

Example—taking a child to beach and supporting them with sand

Findings—No matter what program or no program, all children did better with a stimulating home environment

Research from Israel

Longitudinal study—People with DS and other development disabilities tutoring others with DD

Design similar to Vgotsky research

Not ethical to use control group

Developed friendships, social skills, and tutoring became collaborative learning

Alternative treatments for the Brain—Cohen (2002)

Sicca Cell Therapy—injecting animal cells

Injections with neurotransmitter precursors

Free radical inhibitors

None proven to work any better than good healthcare and stimulating environment

Alzheimer’s and DS—(Singh 2008)

As people with DS age, they all get plaques associated with Alzheimer’sTwo amyloid precursor proteins must be in balancePeople with DS have extra chromosome—duplicates protein—toxic affect on brainTreatment—endothelin—like asp venom—effective

Study in England (Jervis & Prinsloo 2008)

Should do a baseline evaluation in order to evaluate dementia in persons with DS

People over age 35 start showing signs

CAMCOG test and Dementia Questionnaire

Reevaluated six months later

Results—

Want Patrick to have best healthcare and delay dementia

Patrick’s life

Active—swimming, weightlifting, working daily—Special Olympics

Works at CCDS

Good health

As parent do not feel he has to be cured