acts at birth that need to be removed. Due to the fact that intestinal abnormalities is also more common in children with Downs, one of two things occur. Either they do not eat and fail to get the nutrition they need as infants, or they tend to focus on food and have a problem with obesity. Another contributing factor to this could be the fact that Down children are also more prone to thyroid dysfunctions. This could also affect their central nervous system so it needs to be monitored closely. Some other problems that may occur but are not as likely are: leukemia, seizure disorders, skin disorders, sleep apnea, and early onset of Alzheimer disease. I work very closely with an adult with Down syndrome. I personally see many of these things affect her everyday. Medication can help most of the disorders, but even so, it seems like your life is then controlled by the times that you have to take medication. On the other end of the spectrum, I have found people with Down syndrome to be very loving, and ask nothing more of you than your friendship. To me, this quality makes them very special people.There are some physical characteristics that would help a doctor to identify a child affected by Down syndrome. I think the most prevalent is that of a "flat" face. It appears that they do not have the same curvature on their face as we do. It seems to be flattened. Next, would be that the back of their head is also flattened. It goes straight down rather than having a curve to it. They also have smaller ears, decreased muscle tone, smaller mouth, a gap between their first two toes, and skin folds in the corner of their eyes. None of these physical features causes any disability or decreases their function. In personal experience I have found that people with Down syndrome also have an enlarged tongue. Because of this they let their tongue hang out of their mouth a lot. Like most things if you start early it can be corrected. In one instance that I ...
