Honors Program Theses

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Kenneth Bleile

Abstract

All of these factors prove that something needs to be done to educate the general public and medical professionals on the topic of Down syndrome. Because of this misinformation, Down syndrome is not being presented as simply part of the child but rather as the child's identity. Following this diagnosis, many parents question whether or not they would be able to raise a child with Down syndrome and are being forced to decide whether it is best to keep the child, give the newborn up for adoption, or terminate the pregnancy. Such drastic measures result from misinformation. These common misconceptions that individuals hold could easily be addressed if our society could be informed on what Down syndrome is, the prenatal and postnatal assessments available to families in determining Down syndrome, and the resources available to parents prior to or following a diagnosis of Down syndrome. The purpose of this thesis is to show that a diagnosis of Down syndrome should not be considered a tragedy. By reviewing relevant literature, this thesis will provide readers with accurate information on Down syndrome and discuss the implications of misinformation as well as the lack of information provided to parents. This will result in a recommendation for more training for medical professionals as well as sufficient support for every family.

Year of Submission

2013

Department

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

5-2013

Object Description

1 PDF file (25 pages)

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