21 links for Down Syndrome Awareness Week 2012 (5)

We all know that the internet has revolutionised the way we find and use information, and just how much information is available.  That is as true for the worldwide Down syndrome 'community' as for anyone else.  There are many, many sources of  the highest quality information freely available to us, from all over the world - this community is, for the most part, highly co-operative and collaborative, generous with its knowledge and experience.

Today's three links are just a demonstration, by no means the only ones, of the excellence we can tap into:

• With universal availability of non-invasive prenatal diagnostic testing for Down syndrome on the near horizon, the imperative for  providing good quality information for prospective parents has never been been greater.  This page from the Down Syndrome NSW website provides a range of  international information sources addressing the various issues arising from prenatal diagnosis.

• Knowledge about how people with Down syndrome might learn at all ages, across all the 'domains' of learning continues to develop apace. Some things thought to be impossible a generation ago is now commonplace, while other cognitive processes remain more of a mystery.  There is so much more to learn. Down Syndrome Education International has a long and well established record of research and teaching, passing on its findings to professionals and families through publications, conferences and now online sources.  It is often our first port of call in answering complex questions, and keeping up-to date.

• The Adult Down Syndrome Center is located in suburban Chicago. The health clinic started operating more than twenty years ago, two days a week.  Its reputation as a specialist health care service for people with Down syndrome has grown internationally, under the co-directorship of physician Dr Brian Chicoine and psychologist Dr Dennis McGuire.  The clinic has seen more than 5,000 patients, and that experience has been shared through the publication of many papers, presentations at meetings worldwide, two seminal book (Mental Wellness in Adults with Down Syndrome (2006) and The Guide to Good Health for Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome (2010), a popular Facebook page, and from earlier this year, the Adult Down Syndrome Clinic blog to provide a more permanent, searchable record of the clinic's observations, experience and health care practice that is a wealth of information for families and for other professionals.

All 21 links for Down Syndrome Awareness Week 2012 posts