PLUK News feed

disabilityscoop.com: Lacking Oversight, Questions Surround New Down Syndrome Tests

Link: disabilityscoop.com
Several companies are racing to bring safer, more reliable prenatal tests for Down syndrome to the market. But questions abound about why these tests are not required to be proven accurate before being recommended to the general public.

Prom king with Down syndrome goes to college

Link: Down Syndrome
Zach, now 19, has Down syndrome. But the genetic disorder, which causes intellectual disabilities and other difficulties, has not prevented "Zach Attack" from enrolling in community college, climbing the Great Wall of China, coaching hockey games or becoming Prom king in high school.

Taking Better Care of the Most Vulnerable Among Us

Link: Vulnerable
If, as the title of one of Hillary Clinton's books has it, it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a city to raise a developmentally disabled child. Maybe, it takes an entire nation.

Taking Better Care of the Most Vulnerable Among Us

Link: Vulnerable
If, as the title of one of Hillary Clinton's books has it, it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a city to raise a developmentally disabled child. Maybe, it takes an entire nation.

Trig Palin and His Effect on the Republican Campaign

Link: Republican Campaign
The attention lavished on Sarah Palin's infant son, who has Down syndrome, may help her and John McCain to do what, according to their Democratic rivals, they cannot: connect with voters.

Parents adjust to Down syndrome children

link:adjusting to Down syndrome

Jason and Vanessa's handheld camera was turned off when a doctor sat down with them and explained that their son had been diagnosed with Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome.

Mothers share experiences, feelings about children with Down syndrome

Link: Experiences With Down Syndrome
Several women share their experiences with having a baby with down syndrome through writing to help guide new mothers and to bond with each other for understanding and support.

Longevity Brings Challenges for Adults with Down-syndrome

Link: Longevity

Gerry Thomas, 50, outlived doctors' predictions, but like many other middle-agers with Down syndrome, Thomas has developed early-onset Alzheimer's disease. "Their social skills are one of the things that makes them feel very important; they get a lot of positive attention for that," said Dr. Philip Levy, president of the National Institute for People with Disabilities. "So, when that is taken away, it is very, very cruel."

CNN.com: Life with Anthony

Link: CNN

For parents with three small kids -- Michael is 4, Jack's 3, and Anthony is 2 -- Lisa and Mike Spellman are surprisingly calm people. From the jumble of bright plastic toys, to the family pictures on every table, to the five baby gates in the downstairs alone, it's obvious that they've happily surrendered to parenthood. Lisa (a former attorney, now an at-home mom) and Mike (a neuroradiologist) take it all in stride, even when the volume in their Nashville house approaches deafening.

Reuters.com: Study sheds light on how Down's prevents cancer

Link: Reuters.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People with Down's syndrome suffer cancer less than most other people and a study in mice published on Wednesday gives one possible explanation -- they produce higher levels of a certain protein.
The protein may keep tumours from growing, and this finding may help in the development of new cancer drugs, the team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reported.