Institution:
Introduction
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that some people are born with. The condition manifests through diminished intellectual ability, muscle weakness and distinctive facial features. To help people with Down syndrome lead as complete lives as possible, they are sometimes taken to special centers which are equipped with necessary facilities to guide their recovery, while they are exposed to highly trained experts who are well versed in rehabilitation. While these centers offer ideal facilities and personnel needed by people suffering from Down syndrome, they also have the disadvantage of being segregated from the society. The facilities may therefore be inhumane and make it impossible for these people to lead normal and fulfilling lives after all. Of particular focus are the conditions which prevail in these centers. The conditions are adequate to care for the physical needs of the patients, but they may lack in other ways. For instance, they are segregated from the rest of society, making the important interaction with family and friends impossible. They are also contrary to human dignity, whereby individuals should be treated similarly regardless of their physical or other shortcomings. The controversy revolves around the treatment of Down syndrome patients as distinct from the rest of society. On one hand, it may enable there to be greater focus on their physical wellbeing. On the other hand, this leads to segregation that does not augur well with the development of their social abilities. Individuals with Down syndrome should be afforded equal treatment as any other individual.
Literature review
This review of existing literature will aim to find out the pros and cons of treating people with Down syndrome as they are presently. The review will be guided by the thesis statement which advocates for better treatment for people with Down syndrome, especially with respect to their segregation from the rest of the society. The pros and cons of this aspect of Down syndrome care will be analyzed, with a view of better understanding the rationale behind the measure, and why it needs to be there to guarantee better health outcomes for patients.
Review on pros and cons
According to Graaf (2002), education authorities in the Netherlands have traditionally attempted to integrate all students, regardless of their obvious deficiencies. This placed them at a great disadvantage. They suffered both socially and academically. In addition, they were not able to access specialist care which would have been instrumental in improving their abilities over time. It is for this reason that patients now are segregated during their childhood. Such an approach helps the children develop in the absence of negative social effects such as stigmatization by their peers, and neglect of their special health needs. It is therefore a good thing, according to Graaf, that those children with Down syndrome are actually segregated from the rest of the population.
The analysis above does not however mean that this is the ideal situation. Graaf (2002) continues to contend that there are modifications which can be made to ensure the development of children with Down syndrome is all-rounded. In the past, the presence of special schools for children with Down syndrome was abused by placing children even with the slightest sign of disability. In the present education environment, only those with acute issues are expected to be segregated, until a time when they can be reasonably expected to interact with others. This analysis by Graaf (2002) therefore means that segregation as was being practiced in the past was not only unnecessary, but severely impaired the chances of the children to develop properly.
Segregated care succeeds in separating families form some of their members, especially so early in life. Parents are uniquely equipped to provide some needs to children, needs that are unlikely to be satisfied by any other party. When they are then separated, these children suffer greatly, as do the parents. Any Down syndrome care set-up may be perfectly suited for the needs of the children. However, it does not make any considerations for the needs of the parents. They are integral parts of the children’s lives. By shutting them out of the lives of their children, and not offering them any means through which they can cope with the depression and pessimism which is common among parents whose children suffer form down syndrome or autism, these centers negatively affect the health of both parent and child Abbeduto et al, 2004).
Down syndrome centers are important in that they are better equipped to give accurate diagnosis to parents. With such a diagnosis, the parent is able to decide on the best possible care for the patient. Things such as low income levels may however impact on the quality of such services, especially in the third world or in minorities in developed countries. These centers may however cooperate, even though subconsciously, with normal school to ensure that children, regardless of the severity of their disability, are not accepted in normal schools, but are taken to the especial centers. This has a negative psychological effect on the parent and on their relationship with the child. While the stress levels diminish in later life, before resurfacing during adulthood, the separation during the most important years of the child form peers and family injures their chances of developing necessary social skills. It may therefore by important to improve integration while still providing the necessary care (Huiracocha et al, 2017).
Disability can be defined as the interrelationship between the individual, features that impair their normal life, and the physical and social environment. Environmental influences have a significant effect on the development of people with disability, including Down syndrome. Due to their apathy to participating with others in social roles, children with Down syndrome are more concerned with the physical environment. This may be present in centers purposely built to cater for their needs. However, they also place a great deal of importance on social environment within which they grow up. This aspect may be missing in these centers. The end result of such a situation is that the center only delivers partial solutions to the problem, even when they strive to be as holistic in their approach as possible (Foley et al, 2014).
Conclusion
Specialist centers that cater for the needs of people with Down syndrome have several benefits. They help mitigate the various developmental issues that the people have, while also enabling them lead normal lives to the best extent possible. Despite this however, the people are denied access to an ideal social environment which is also vital to their development. It is therefore important to ensure that while these centers carry out their work, they ensure that the people with Down syndrome are afforded equal treatment as any other individual.
References
Abbeduto, L. et al. (2004). Psychological Well-Being and Coping in Mothers of Youths With Autism, Down Syndrome, or Fragile X Syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 109(3), 237-254.
de Graaf, G. (2002) Supporting the social inclusion of students with Down syndrome in mainstream education. Down syndrome News and Update, 2(2), 55-62.
Foley K-R, Girdler S, Bourke J, Jacoby P, Llewellyn G, Einfeld S, et al. (2014) Influence of the Environment on Participation in Social Roles for Young Adults with Down Syndrome. PLoS ONE 9(9): e108413.
Huiracocha, L., Almeida, C., Huiracocha, K., Arteaga, J., Arteaga, A., & Blume, S. (2017). Parenting children with Down syndrome: Societal influences. Journal of Child Health Care, 21(4), 488–497.