Every year about 2500 children with Down's syndrome are born in Russia. It's only a small part of all the cases of mental disorders that are registrated.
Down's syndrome (also known as trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is typically associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features, and mild to moderate intellectual disability. The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental age of an 8- or 9-year-old child, but this varies widely.
Children with Down's syndrome cannot be cured. Most of them never get home and do not know what mother's love is. Very often parents abandon such children in maternity hospitals, sometimes due to the recommendation of medical staff.
Children with Down's syndrome which are rejected by their parents get into orphanages and later as they grow older they are transferred to specialized nursing homes for adults. If no one adopts a child he spends his whole life in the orphanages and specialized institutions. Life expectancy of patients with Down's syndrome is around 50 to 60 years in the developed world with proper health care.
Down's syndrome really cannot be cured. But people with such a diagnosis can be helped. Cognitive development of these children in different cases varies greatly. Nevertheless, the children with Down's syndrome are capable of doing most of what all other children can do. However they need more careful treatment and attention. They need more time to learn the simplest things and skills. Of course, the best results are achieved by children who grow up in families and are surrounded by parents' love and attention. But even those children who grow up in the orphanages or specialized schools, now receive the necessary treatment: these may be physiotherapy which is necessary for the development of motor functions, massage, swimming in the pool, speech therapy and much more. The education of such children is based on special programs. Many children with Down's syndrome achieve very good results. The positive effect on the health of children and their development has contact with animals: in Russia they use hippotherapy for the treatment of children with the Down's syndrome and practicing Wellness classes with dogs. However, now in Russia is very difficult for the person with Down's syndrome to find a place in society. Despite the fact that such people can perform simple work, they are rarely employed and able to lead a more or less independent life.
