Downsyndrome.com

WASHINGTON — Parents are putting their babies at risk when they place pillows and other soft bedding in their cribs, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned Thursday.

From 2002 to 2004, 241 children under age 5 died in incidents involving nursery products. About 40 percent of the deaths involved cribs, with soft bedding cited as the leading contributing factor. Many of the children suffocated when lying face down on pillows or other bedding, the agency said.

“Less is more when you’re talking about the crib,” CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said, adding that cribs should be free of adult pillows and blankets, stuffed animals and baby quilts.

To reduce risk of suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome, parents should place babies on their back in a crib that meets current safety standards, the agency said.

Among other incidents of death in cribs, babies became trapped when the mattress was ill-fitting, CPSC said. Old, broken and modified cribs should not be used, and parents should never allow a gap larger than two fingers at any point between the sides of the crib and mattress, the agency advised.

The agency said there were 36 deaths over the same period relating to baby baths and bath seats. All occurred when caregivers left the baby unattended. In many instances, babies slipped out of bath seats, fell out of baby seats or tipped forward or sideways into the water.

At no time, even for a few seconds, should babies be left unattended in the tub, Vallese said.

Deaths involving playpens also were high, with many resulting from the use of soft bedding.

Although CPSC has in recent years issued many crib product recalls, Vallese said there were no related deaths during 2002 through 2004 that involved a recalled product or a product that eventually was recalled.

In 2006, the most recent year in which injury data was collected, CPSC counted about 66,400 emergency injuries linked with nursery products among children under age 5. Most of these were related to baby carriers and car seats, excluding motor vehicle accidents, followed by incidents involving cribs and mattresses.

The most common injuries in 2006 resulted from falls, and the head was the most frequently injured body part.

On the Net: www.cpsc.gov

Copyright C 2008 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. By Kim Edwards. Penguin, 432 pp., $14.00 paperback.

On a winter night in 1964, an unexpected blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. The firstborn child is a healthy boy; the doctor immediately recognizes that the second, a daughter, has Down syndrome. While his wife, Norah, is still sedated, he gives the baby girl to an attending nurse and tells her to place the child in an institution. When the mother rouses, David forgets his rehearsed words and utters, "Oh, my love…. I am so sorry. Our little daughter died as she was born." From these few simple sentences springs a heartrending novel of regret, resilience and redemption.

There are no villains in this story. With lyrical prose, Kim Edwards paints an honest portrait of the human condition. In every character we see wheat and tares sown together; we watch good intentions go awry; we wait for confession to crack open the soul. Like the chorus in a Greek tragedy, Edwards repeatedly reminds readers that David’s dark secret has sealed each character’s fate. She doesn’t condemn her characters but treats them with respect and compassion.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is a best-seller and a book club favorite with plenty of fans among churchgoers. One theme that resonates with readers is the way experience profoundly shapes moral vision. David’s deception is rooted in his hard-scrabble past. He grew up poor in the mountains of West Virginia. His mother was consumed by caring for his younger sister, who had a heart defect and died at age 12. Years later, David gazes at his newborn daughter and can only see history repeating itself. "This poor child will most likely have a serious heart defect," he tells the nurse. "I’m trying to spare us all a terrible grief."

This story prompts rich reflection on the insidious power of family secrets, and it invites us to ponder the preemptive strikes sometimes deployed to protect loved ones from suffering. Fear can motivate drastic action to secure a future for ourselves and for those we hold dear. But life-giving care flows from love, not from fear, as characters in this novel come to discover.

David buries his sorrow in long hours of work as a physician. He cultivates a detached, spectator’s view of life, aided by a camera called "The Memory Keeper," a gift from his wife. Haunted by the presence of her absent daughter, Norah finds herself drifting farther and farther away from her husband. In her portrait of Norah, the author shows the long reach of private grief that is unconverted by communal rituals of mourning. David, Norah and their son, Paul, live isolated lives under the same roof, as separate from one another as they are from the missing member of their family, Phoebe, who is raised in a different household in a distant city.

Phoebe has a savvy caretaker and strong-willed advocate in Caroline, a modern-day Hagar who, aided by down-to-earth angels, makes a way through the wilderness to preserve the life of the rejected child. Through alternating chapters the author depicts each twin growing up, unaware of the other’s existence. For her part, Phoebe flourishes in her adoptive family, nurtured by a web of institutions that includes a household of faith.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter realistically depicts the challenges and blessings of sharing life with someone who has Down syndrome. My younger sister, Judy, born in 1960, has this genetic abnormality. "Don’t even take her home," friends and relatives urged my parents. "It won’t be fair to the two healthy sons you already have." A seasoned obstetrician counseled otherwise. "Take her home," he advised. "Care for her and love her as you would any child. She’ll be slow, but you’ll all learn together." Almost 50 years later I’m still learning from my sister, who’s as eager as grown-up Phoebe is to get married. With Judy I’m learning how the life of Christian faith prepares people to suffer wisely, for good cause and with caring companions. That’s a lesson for the David Henry in every one of us.

Reviewed by Don C. Richter, associate director of the Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in Faith and author of Mission Trips That Matter: Embodied Faith for the Sake of the World (Upper Room Books, forthcoming).

COPYRIGHT 2008 The Christian Century Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

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Dozens were killed on February 1 when twin bombers struck at Baghdad markets. The bombers, both women, died in the blasts, but they were not suicides–both had Down syndrome and were unwitting tools in al-Qaeda’s deadly attack. This is a sign of al-Qaeda’s power as much as their weakness–though their numbers dwindle, though they are harried and defeated, they can still adapt to the new order being established in Iraq.

Perhaps more indelible than the dozens dead are those two walking bombs who were tricked into al-Qaeda’s mission and detonated by remote. This is not the first time innocents have been used for evil–Tiberius had his minnows, armies have their child soldiers–but it is a new chapter in a ghastly old book.

COPYRIGHT 2008 National Review, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

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SAN DIEGO — Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQNM) today announced a significant step in the development of a noninvasive test for Trisomy 21, Down syndrome, that will incorporate multiple RNA fetal markers, including the PLAC4 gene as previously published by Dr. Dennis Lo, Chinese Hong Kong University.

In preliminary studies, more than 100 clinical plasma specimens of various ethnicities were tested with partners using the Company’s MassARRAY([R])platform and its SEQureDx[TM] Technology. Data from those studies indicate that the development-stage Trisomy 21 test is approaching 85% (+/- 5%) ethnic coverage, more than 95% sensitivity and close to 99% specificity. The Trisomy 21 test is being developed to directly assess risk of Down syndrome using a maternal blood sample as early as the first trimester through the early second trimester, prior to invasive procedures such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling that carry unnecessary risk to mother and fetus. The Trisomy 21 test is expected to be commercially available as a laboratory developed test (LDT) through licensing partners in the first half 2009.

"These early results are encouraging and provide the basis for a new technology that could complement or otherwise change the current surrogate serum screening and amnio testing markets," said Harry Stylli, Ph.D., Sequenom’s President and CEO. "Although we are pleased with these early results and are on track, we will continue to develop our noninvasive SEQureDx Technology for Trisomy 21 testing during 2008, as well as for new tests, including other chromosomal disorders. To maximize impact on patient management, we aim to deliver a test that is suitable for administration during the latter part of the first trimester through the early second trimester of pregnancy."

About Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality characterized by the presence of an extra copy of genetic material on the 21st chromosome, either in whole (Trisomy 21) or part (such as due to translocations). The effects of the extra copy vary greatly among people, depending on the extent of the extra copy, genetic history and pure chance. In 2007, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) endorsed guidelines that offer risk assessment to all pregnancies for fetal chromosomal abnormalities, including Down syndrome. The ACOG recommendation includes screening before the 20th week of pregnancy using a less-invasive screening option that includes ultrasound in conjunction with the measurement of certain blood hormones. It is estimated that approximately 70%, or 2.8 million, women undergo Down syndrome screening in the United States each year.

About Sequenom

Sequenom is committed to providing the best genomic and genetic analysis products for research and the molecular diagnostic markets. The Company makes available superior solutions for genomic science in biomedical research, livestock and agricultural applications and molecular medicine, as well as for various diagnostic markets, including noninvasive prenatal testing, oncology and infectious diseases. Sequenom’s proprietary MassARRAY([R]) system delivers reliable and specific data from complex biological samples and from genetic target materials available only in trace amounts.

Sequenom([R]), SEQureDx(TM), and MassARRAY([R]) are trademarks of Sequenom, Inc.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements regarding the Company’s plans and expectations regarding a Trisomy 21 test including its expected commercial availability, its effect or impact in relation to or on surrogate serum screening and amnio testing markets, and the Company’s continued research and development efforts on the Trisomy 21 test and other tests, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks and uncertainties associated with demand for and market acceptance of the Company’s products, services, and technologies, new technology and product development and commercialization particularly for new technologies such as prenatal genetic analysis technology and molecular diagnostics, and particularly noninvasive prenatal laboratory developed tests and diagnostics, reliance upon the collaborative efforts of other parties, research and development progress, competition, government regulation, obtaining or maintaining regulatory approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and subsequent periodic reports. These forward-looking statements are based on current information that is likely to change and speak only as of the date hereof. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and Sequenom undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this press release.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

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TYRE, Lebanon (AFP) — Ali kneads pizza dough under the watchful eye of Corporal Domenico Magliocca, a UN peacekeeper and head chef teaching handicapped Lebanese the art of preparing the Italian speciality.

The pizza apprentice is among some 100 youngsters aged between four and 25 who, suffering from Downs Syndrome, autism or multiple handicaps, have been trained since late 2006 by the Tyre Centre for those with “special needs”.

Each Wednesday they have a party when the Italian Blue Helmets bring along not only their culinary skills but also their sense of fun to a group of young people otherwise largely isolated from the outside world.

Ali, 25, follows to the letter the instructions from Magliocca and his colleagues Vincenzo Schettino and Basilio Sudano, who in turn are teaching him how to measure out the ingredients, garnish the dough and cook the pizza.

“Yalla! yalla!” — “Go on!” in Arabic …

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Linda Rivera knows people think she is crazy.

Rivera has devoted her life to caring for disabled children — her son and many others. Her life’s calling led her, in 1998, to co- found Zach’s Place, a respite care center downtown for disabled children.

In addition, she adopted two children with severe disabilities — one is brain-injured and the other has Down syndrome — and has two foster children.

“We’re a family,” she said. “A weird family. But a family.

“A lot of people think what I do is crazy. But I really feel for children who are disabled and don’t have families. I fall in love with them, and sometimes I adopt them.”

No one had ever suggested her life’s work was a nuisance and threatened to fine her.

Not until she built a home in the University Park neighborhood in 2005.

Today, at 4:15 p.m., Rivera will try to defend her lifestyle to the University Park Homeowners Association Board in a hearing at the Z&R Property Management offices. She was summoned after neighbor complaints about traffic to her Saint Augustine Court home.

The hearing will “determine whether or not your business activities and the related parking represent a nuisance to the community and whether or not you should be fined for those activities,” said a Feb. 6 letter from Z&R’s Darren H. Burns.

The letter’s threatening, accusatory tone offended Rivera, who says she tried to explain to the HOA and Z&R that the traffic is nurses caring for her children. Not a “business activity.”

“Don’t disabled children have a right to live in University Park?” Rivera said Wednesday. “My son has a brain injury and needs around-theclock medical care. Unfortunately, we need nurses 24/7. I don’t have a choice. What do they want me to do, put them in a nursing home? Sell my house?

“It’s not like we’re having a party.”

Rivera acknowledges the cul de sac gets crowded when nurses are coming and going, or social workers visit, or when the school buses make their twice-a-day stops there.

“Parking on the cul de sac sucks,” she said.

But she insists her nurses don’t intentionally block driveways or regularly park illegally on the street overnight, as alleged. Only when ambulances are summoned.

HOA board members contacted Wednesday said they had no idea what was going on inside Rivera’s house.

They never called to ask.

“There seems to be an excessive amount of activity for the two children she has,” said Dave McGrath, HOA president. “She can come and explain what is required to care for these kids, who needs to come and when.”

McGrath said reports from “inside the neighborhood” suggest Rivera is running a day care from her home.

Rivera denies and resents the HOA accusation.

“I don’t have rotating children,” she said. “My foster children have been with me 15 years. And I’m not looking to enlarge my family.”

McGrath is not persuaded.

“I want you to ask her point-blank if she is running a business,” he said. “This isn’t a trial, but you ask her if she is being paid or compensated for any children besides her own.”

“Absolutely not,” Rivera said. “Why are they being so nasty?”

Tell me about your neighborhood:

636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com

Copyright 2008
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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ACCRA (AFP) — Ghana go into their African Nations Cup semi-final against Cameroon here on Thursday with a word of warning from coach Claude Le Roy.

The Frenchman is concerned his players may fall into the trap of believing that as hosts they’ve already had their final by downing arch regional rivals Nigeria in Sunday’s dramatic last eight clash.

“This is the big fear, that they think they’ve done it. It’s precisely what I told them before training,” said Le Roy, who guided Cameroon to the 1988 title, on Tuesday.

The Ghana coach, who turns 60 on the eve of the game at Accra’s Ohene Djan Stadium, observed: “This happened with hosts Morocco against Cameroon in the 1988 semi-final, and again you saw it with Germany at the 2006 World Cup.

“It’s the most difficult step to take. Psychologically it’s a difficult hurdle …

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BAGHDAD — A U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday that Iraqi insurgents are increasingly relying on women and teenagers to undertake suicide attacks. He released two videos that he said showed how insurgents have drawn children into their circle.

One video showed footage of boys in black masks learning terrorist tactics. The other showed a boy being rescued from his kidnappers, apparently filmed by an Iraqi or American soldier.

Rear Adm. Gregory Smith stopped short of calling the use of women and children in attacks a trend. But he said recent high-profile attacks, including the double bombing last Friday of two pet markets in Baghdad, have drawn new attention to the tactic. Friday’s coordinated attacks were carried out by 15-year-old girls with Down syndrome, according to Iraqi officials. At least 99 people were killed.

Smith blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, a largely Sunni Muslim group whose affiliation with the al-Qaida of Osama bin Laden is uncertain, for using children in attacks.

He said the group “wants to poison the next-generation Iraqis and hopes to continue the cycle of violence they have brought upon Iraq.”

Among recent incidents Smith cited was a Jan. 20 attack when a boy offered a box of candy to the leader of a U.S.-allied militia group before detonating himself and killing the man.

Smith said that in the last year, 10 women have undertaken suicide missions.

The spokesman for Iraq’s defense ministry, Mohammed al-Askari, said investigators have confirmed with residents of the area that the two girls who carried out last Friday’s bombings had Down syndrome.

He declined to identify them, but he said police had contacted their families.

The footage of young boys apparently undergoing training for terrorist attacks was discovered during a raid on suspected insurgents in early December in northeastern Baghdad, Smith said.

The video shows preteen boys wearing soccer jerseys and athletic pants. Black masks cover their faces, and guns, too large for some of them, are draped over their bodies.

In one clip, they surround a man on a bicycle. One yells for the man to get down on the ground, but another child yells at him to stand up.

In another scene, with adults looking on, they force a driver to his knees at pistol point. A child stands nearby with a grenade in his hand.

In yet another, the boys storm a house and take people captive, shouting, “God is great!” One scene shows a boy no older than 10 smiling and wearing a suicide vest.

Smith said U.S. officials believe the footage was to be used in a propaganda film. He said that a few days after the video was captured, another raid turned up a proposal for a movie depicting children training to be terrorists.

The other video, which appeared to have been filmed with a camera attached to a soldier’s helmet, showed a raid on a house in the Kirkuk area of northern Iraq. Inside, soldiers found an 11-year-old boy and returned him to his parents. The kidnappers had demanded $100,000 for the release of the boy.

To see video of the boys learning the terrorist tactics of al- Qaida in Iraq, go to http://videos.mcclatchydc.com/ vmix(underscore)hosted(underscore)apps/vi deo/1699006

To see video of the 11-year-old boy rescued from kidnappers near Kirkuk, go to http://videos.mcclatchydc.com/ vmix(underscore)hosted(underscore)apps/vi deo/1699014

——

(Lannen reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader.)

——

(c) 2008, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

c2008 ANG Newspapers. Cannot be used or repurposed without prior
written permission.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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The rotating world of sports has been knocked off its axis, dislodged by steroids accusations, doping charges, lying, cheating, dog torture and a coach who spied illegally on opponents yet will coach in today’s Super Bowl.

Never have there been so many tarnished athletic heroes, which makes it harder to find truly positive stories and genuine acts of sportsmanship.

Well, look no further than the city of Alameda and Alameda High School to find something to touch the heart amid

all the chaos. Marissa Erickson, an Alameda High junior, has Down syndrome, and she’s an accepted member of the girls’ junior varsity basketball team and a junior homecoming princess.

Students with special needs often feel excluded, but Coach Stephen Burnett made sure Marissa felt included as a member of his girls’ JV basketball squad.

Marissa was an honorary part of the team a year ago. Then Burnett gave her a permanent roster spot this season. She’s No. 35, sitting excitedly on the bench, usually in the full lotus position, with her warm-up jacket off, although she rarely plays for the Hornets.

But from her fixed smile, she’s elated to be there.

“I like it… the team… the games,” she said. “I get nervous.”

She high-fives her teammates; they high-five back. Co-captain Joanna Louie ties Marissa’s shoes, helps her into her hooded sweat shirt after practice, and talks to her constantly by cell phone.

“We keep her updated with the team,” said Louie, a 15-year-old sophomore. “We tell her what time practice is, what to wear, make sure she has her game bag. We also have team lunches. Our team is all about family.”

“Family” is stenciled on the team’s practice shorts.

“She’s always smiling,” said Hillary Freeman, 15, also a sophomore and the other co-captain. “If you’re having a bad day, you see her smile and it pops a smile on your face.”

This is likely Marissa’s first and last year of basketball. She is interested in a teen group and seniors don’t play girls’ JV basketball. So Burnett is trying to get her a shot in an actual game.

He’s never coached a player quite like Marissa.

“If she wants to give you a high five a day, or a hug, it’s with true love, from the heart,” said Burnett, who’s coached the girls’ JV team for seven years. “She wants to give you so much. I admire that she is just another kid — different in so many ways, but the same in so many ways. God touched her that way.”

c2008 ANG Newspapers. Cannot be used or repurposed without prior
written permission.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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