UN Holidays - World Down Syndrome Day

On March 21, Down Syndrome Day is celebrated all over the world This event was included in the list of international holidays in 2005 The initiator was the members of the VI symposium dedicated to this topic In the Russian Federation, the date was first celebrated in 2011 At the same time, the UN declared March 21 as a day for a person with a similar disease The innovation was developed in order to increase public awareness of the presence of such a problem Down syndrome is one of the types of naturally occurring pathology acquired at birth, found in all corners of the planet and often provoking changes in physical characteristics, motor skills and health status Free access to medical services, inclusive education programs and necessary research play a special role in the lives of patients The day itself was chosen for a reason - it is a symbol for a disease caused by trisomy of one chromosome: in people suffering from this pathology, the 21st chromosome is present in 3 copies Thus, it turned out to be the 21st day of the third month, that is, March British scientist John Langdon Down in 1862 became the first to describe this disease, which later received his name, as a form of mental disorder The relationship between the origin of the syndrome acquired at birth and the number of chromosomes was established in 1959 by a French doctor, Jerome Lejeune The popular statement about the inability of special children to the educational process is incorrect It is noteworthy that the discoverer of the disease dubbed it “Mongolism” This term arose as a result of the fact that the patient’s face has certain similarities with representatives of the Asian-American race But the international health organization abandoned this name in 1965 after an appeal from Mongolian specialists It is likely that the current name of the pathology will someday be changed to something else The National Institute of Medicine of America has already made recommendations regarding the elimination of the possessive form in the name of the disease, explaining this by the fact that the scientist Down did not suffer from the disorder Down syndrome has certain physiological characteristics - in particular, a “flat face”, folds of skin in the neck, joint hypermobility, muscle underdevelopment and others The main feature of the pathology is that a person develops much more slowly than his peers Despite the well-known statement about the inability of special children to learn, they have the opportunity to learn not only the rules of personal hygiene, but also more complex skills In the capital of Russia today there is the only theater on the planet where all employees suffer from Down syndrome The group with the interesting name “Simple-minded” constantly goes on tour, gathering huge audiences Every year on March 21, many countries host a variety of charitable and educational events, concerts, meetings and conventions