31 for 21: Day 23 Guest Blogger!!! "Down Syndrome Look A Like!"

one of my dear friends, anna, has graciously allowed me to share a recent blogpost of hers!  beautiful ellie is one of wyatt's many girlfriends!   enjoy this awesome post and beautiful pics of ellie!   you can follow anna's blog at "the chronicles of ellie bellie bear"....

"down syndrome look alike"  is by far one of the most common search terms on my blog so I thought that I would write another blurb about this. Do people with Down syndrome look a like? Yes and no. Yes in the sense that people with Down syndrome have just that, a syndrome.  With a syndrome come common physiologic characteristics.  Children with Ds may have all or just a few of these characteristics.  It is why when you look at someone with Ds, you suspect, well, that person has Ds. Common Physical Characteristics With Down Syndrome:

• Almond-shaped eyes 

Almond-shaped Eyes

• Simian Crease aka a single horizontal crease across the palm of the hand

Courtesy of Wikipedia

• Low-set ears
• Shorter femurs and humerus (thigh and arm bones--can be picked up on Ultrasound)
• Small hands and feet
• Small mid-face (i.e. nose, mouth, cheeks)

Small mid-facial features

• Sandal Gap Toe or Sandal Gap Deformity  (This is also a common search term "sandal gap toe ultrasounds" or "sandal gap deformity down syndrome")

Sandal Gap Toe

• "Flatten" face (you can see this on their profile)

Flat Face: Look at how her forehead, nose, and chin are almost on the same plane.

No, because each child is an individual who received half their chromosomes from Mama and half from Dad.  As for that extra special chromosome, it came from either mom or dad.  What does that mean?  It means that each child looks like her family members.  I can be hanging out with Ellie at Andrew's work event and as people walk on by they say "yep, that has to be Andrew's kid".  No lie. They don't look at all alike?

Look at those chunky cheeks!

Eh, they aren't related are they?

Sorry for the older pic but it really gets the point across.

Nope, I cannot see the resemblance at all.

Ack!  They even have the same hairline.

What about me?  Guess which one is me?

Which one is me????  :)

Can't tell?  Here is a hint, recognize this facial expression?

How about now?

Left: Anna; Right: Ellie Just in case you couldn't tell :)

I wonder where she gets her spunk?

There you have it.  Yes, there are common physiological traits among those with Down syndrome, but more than anything, look past those traits and see the actual person.  You will recognize just how much each person is different and just how much she resembles her mother, her father, her siblings, her grandparents, her cousins.