People refer to people with Down syndrome as “retarded,” but how is that right? It's not their fault they have Down syndrome. It's no one's fault, Down syndrome has nothing to do with religion, race or socioeconomic status. It can happen to anyone, Down syndrome is a genetic mutation caused by an extra chromosome 21, complete or partial. It is the most common genetic disease in the world, affecting 1 in 691 children born in the United States. Down syndrome is named after a British doctor, Langdon Down, who first described the condition in 1887. Langdon did not have Down syndrome but wrote an article titled “Remarks on the Ethnic Classifications of Idiots.” In his article, Langdon referred to Down syndrome as the “Mongolian type of idiot,” so people with Down syndrome were called “monogoloids.” It was only more than 60 years later, in 1959, that an extra chromosome 21 was identified as the cause by Dr. Jerome Lejune. There are three types of Down syndrome: trisomy 21, translocation, and mosaic Down syndrome, or mosaicism. Trisomy 21 is the most common form of Down syndrome and accounts for 95% of cases. When someone has trisomy 21 they have 47 chromosomes instead of 46 in each cell, which is caused by an error in cell division known as nondisjunction. Usually a child inherits genetic information from both parents, 23 from each parent, but at some point during cell division a pair of 21 chromosomes in the X or Y chromosome fails to separate, causing the child to have a 21 ° extra chromosome. This extra chromosome is the cause of delays in the development of Down syndrome and the physical characteristics associated with Down syndrome. Translocation Down syndrome accounts for about 3% of cases... half the paper... what to conceive people aged 35 and older are more likely to have a child with this condition. However, because birth rates are much higher among younger women, 80 percent of babies with Down syndrome in the United States are born to mothers under the age of 35. 38% of people in the United States know someone with Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome are similar to you, so why is it okay for you to call them retarded? They have only part or an entire extra chromosome 21. It's amazing how a piece of genetic material can change your life. People with Down syndrome are one chromosome away from being just like you, so why would you call them retarded when they have 46 chromosomes? You could have been them, so be grateful for what you have and don't put down people with Down syndrome because they are not like you. They are human just like you, so stay calm because it's just one extra chromosome.