What determines the severity of downs syndrome?
no one really knows if a baby will be mild, moderate or severe once it is born, it takes years to discover. I believe what determines the severity of DS is the amount of early intervention such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and special education (taught to parents as well so they can continue teaching the child when therapists are not there) without it these children are stagnant. Just think of 30 or so yrs ago when kids were institutionalized and given nothing. Because of this lack of learning they were all classified as severe. Today because of all the programs that are available for them that has changed, sure some still will be severe but a majority of these children can and do go on to live productive lives as best as they can. Today they are in the progress of doing research on this subject and are no where ready to put classifications or labels on children.
