FRAGILE X SYNDROME: A Guide for Teachers of Young Children .
Fragile X Syndrome and Education . 6.
III. Cognitive Deficits Associated with Fragile X Syndrome 7.
IV. Biomedical Advances in Developmental Psychology: The Case of Fragile X Syndrome 9.
V. Characteristics of Fragile X Relatives with Different Attitudes Toward Terminating an Affected Pregnancy . 11.
VI. Fragile X Syndrome: Diagnosis, Treatment and Research . . 13.
VII. Rapid Antibody Test for Fragile X Syndrome . 14.
VIII. My Summary . 15.
RESOURCES . . 17.
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FRAGILE X SYNDROME: A Guide for Teachers of Young Children.
Awareness of Fragile X has increased, mainly because the gene that leads to the syndrome has been recently discovered. Teachers and other people working with children are generally not aware of the syndrome and its characteristics. Next to Down's syndrome, a genetic condition, Fragile X, an inherited condition, is the second most common cause of mental retardation. In fact, an estimated 1 in 1,000 people are mentally retarded because of the Fragile X gene and many more are mildly affected or are carriers. Part of the unawareness of Fragile X is because many cases are not obvious, especially girls.
The Fragile X gene is located on the X chromosome and can cause a fragile site. An individual who carries this gene may be fully affected, mildly affected or not at all. It is not yet understood what causes the extent to which an individual may be affected. Unlike other causes of mental retardation, e.g. Down syndrome, male children affected by Fragile X often experience a decline in intellectual performance over a period of the first ten years of life. The remaining males that are unaffected may pass the gene onto their female children not male children, since, only females pass the X chromosome to male babies. Many children affected with this syndrome experience speech problems and poor auditory processing.