Medical facts...

Down's Syndrome occurs at the rate of around 1 in 700 to 1 in 900 live births worldwide. There are currently 30,000 people in the United Kingdom with Down's Syndrome.

Down's Syndrome is the result of an additional chromosome 21. What causes the presence of this additional chromosome is not yet known.

Babies with Down's syndrome are born at the same rate into families from ALL social, economic and racial backgrounds, and to parents of all ages.
Down's syndrome is associated with a number of medical problems, such as hearing and vision defects, heart abnormalities, infection, leukaemia, thyroid disorders and of developing Alzheimer-type of dementia in later life.

Down's Syndrome is associated with a range of developmental difficulties, such as delayed motor skills, these being sitting, crawling and walking. Also a delay in cognitive skills, these being short term memory abilities and speech and language.