Ebook: Down Syndrome: an Introduction for Parents and Carers

Copyright page -- Prefaces -- To the Third Edition -- To the First (1982) Edition -- To the Second (1988) Edition -- What is Down syndrome? -- Dear Parent, -- Introduction 'I Used to Think of Her as a Stranger' -- SECTION ONE Becoming a Family of a Child with Down Syndrome -- 1 Will we cope? What can we expect and how do we tell people? -- 2 Coming to terms with the diagnosis -- feelings, reactions and adapting -- 3 What is the effect on the family? -- SECTION TWO Causes, Risks and Prevalence of Down Syndrome -- 4 What causes Down syndrome? -- 5 Risks and prevalence of Down syndrome -- 6 Prenatal diagnosis: tests for Down syndrome during pregnancy -- SECTION THREE Characteristics of Down syndrome -- 7 Physical characteristics and health -- 8 Personality and socialisation -- 9 Behaviour and psychological problems -- 10 Intelligence, development and attainments -- SECTION FOUR: Practical Aspects and Future Directions -- 11 Treatments, early interventions, teaching and learning -- 12 Working with professionals and local services -- 13 Inclusion, integration and choosing schools -- Concluding comments -- Resources.;Already established as the author of the standard work for parents of Down Syndrome children, Cliff Cunningham has now produced the definitive study in this field. Practical and helpful, its sympathetic and understanding approach covers all the questions parents ask about the causes, characteristics and diagnosis of Down Syndrome and includes the difficult issues around prenatal tests. Cliff Cunningham deals with the early reactions and feelings that parents may have and how the family adapt and cope when a child is diagnosed. He explores the mental, motor and social development of children with Down Syndrome, from birth to adulthood. Cliff Cunningham has established a study of over 160 children born with Down Syndrome and followed their progress into adulthood, the largest survey of its type ever carried out.