this storybook pediatrics is a book by Dr. Sandra K. Blight, M.D. that features some of the best pediatric cases she has ever seen. It is an entertaining read about a little girl named Anna who, at the age of one, has Down syndrome. She, along with her mother, Dr. Susan Blight, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Dr.
In fact, it’s one of the most engaging children’s books I’ve read in many years. Dr. Blight has seen so many children with Down syndrome that it’s hard to name a single one. She is a pediatrician, but she has also done research in the area of pediatric cardiology and is a well known expert on Down syndrome.
Its not just the fact that Anna is a little girl with Down syndrome that makes it so appealing. It is the sheer magnitude of the medical research that has been done with her. In fact, she has more medical articles published on Down syndrome than on any other condition (not including autism). Many of these articles have been cited in other medical journals. She has seen her share of children with Down syndrome, and her work has become a part of the medical literature.
The medical field has made some great strides in recent years in the treatment of Down syndrome. A child with Down syndrome has a much higher chance of having an autism spectrum disorder than a child not with Down syndrome. A child with Down syndrome is more likely to have an intellectual disability and developmental delays. A child with Down syndrome is less likely to live in poverty than a child not with Down syndrome.
I always thought this was kind of a weird and controversial claim. I’m glad to see that there is some evidence that supports it.
I think that if you believe that a child with Down syndrome is less likely to be poor than a child not with Down syndrome that one can get away with it. But I also think that when you say that a child with Down syndrome is more likely to have an autism spectrum disorder than a child not with Down syndrome that you are making a claim. It is not the case that a child with Down syndrome is less likely to be poor than a child not with Down syndrome. It is the opposite.
You may have heard of the word “pediatrics.” There are many different types of pediatricians and a person with Down syndrome has many different kinds of pediatricians. With Down syndrome one kind of pediatrician specializes in Down syndrome services. Another kind of pediatrician specializes in autism spectrum services. And some kind of pediatrician specializes in the evaluation of children with Down syndrome. The first kind of pediatrician, or pediatric “specialist,” does not specialize in Down syndrome services.
That’s not entirely true though. In fact, a person with Down syndrome will get different kinds of specialized attention from a Down syndrome pediatrician than a person with autism spectrum disorders will get from a Down syndrome pediatrician. But as always with healthcare, it’s hard to say exactly what a person with Down syndrome is capable of. This one particular pediatrician is a member of the Pediatric Subspecialty Board, which has more Down syndrome than autism spectrum pediatricians.
Not totally true, but I don’t like it when someone says, “But the world isn’t as good as it looks.” This is what happens when you have a kid with Down syndrome who doesn’t grow up in a similar place.
The fact is that Down syndrome, when it happens, changes a person. There is no one right answer, or even best answer for why a person with Down syndrome changes. There is also no single right way to handle Down syndrome. There are many different ways that this condition can be handled, and for some people, dealing with Down syndrome is like dealing with a bad disease.