Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is a congenital disorder that comes from a defect in chromosome 21 that results in intellectual impairment and physical abnormalities (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Some parents of children with Down syndrome choose to have their son or daughter undergo cosmetic surgery to change his/her look, while some parents choose not to. Parents, who choose for their child to undergo cosmetic surgery, believe that it will be easier for their son/daughter to fit into society and not be judged. However it is possible that, parents who choose for their child to undergo cosmetic surgery believe that later in their son/daughter’s life, he/she will experience an identity crisis. Moreover society should accept their son/daughter for who they are. I believe

The majority of the parents disagreed; yes (8.7%), no (90.6%). Lewis found that a majority of the parents did not favor the surgery for multiple reasons. The concern of the general process of surgery was high, the physical risk, child’s reaction to surgery and society’s expectations of the child were all high concerns that led to the parents of not favoring to having cosmetic surgery done on their child. However, the parents who favored surgery wanted to adjust eyes, insert implants, reduce tongue, improve breathing, alleviate difficulty eating, decrease respiratory infections, decrease drooling, and increase articulation/speech (Lewis). The parents who favored cosmetic surgery for their son/daughter, wanted to make the lives of their children much easier to live on a daily basis. Not all parents who agreed to undergo cosmetic surgery believed it was necessary just for their son/daughter to fit in

Nick was a very intelligent student and made everyone in the room laugh whether it was a bad day or a good day. Nick had problems eating and swallowing his food, and there were sometimes he would choke on the food he would eat, but was saved numerous times. Then there was this incident in the special needs room of the school, where the school had to dial 9-1-1 to get EMS because one student was not responding. I found out later that day, it was Nick, who got sent to the hospital because he choked on a baby carrot. Nick recovered and came back to school. After this incident, his parents would come down to the school and bring lunch for everyone and that’s when his parents told me that Nick was going to undergo cosmetic surgery for his tongue. In my mind, I was thinking, why does one need surgery for his tongue. I couldn’t hold the question to myself, so I went up to Nick’s mother and asked, “How would doing cosmetic surgery on Nick’s tongue benefit him?” Nick’s mother then explained that undergoing this surgery would help alleviate Nick’s struggle to swallow hard substances, so next time he would not have any risk of eating. This is an example of how cosmetic surgery can help improve daily activities, such as eating and swallowing, which benefits a person with Down