Characteristics

When a baby is born doctors will usually notice if there are any physical characteristics associated with Down syndrome (although I have heard of some parents not finding out until months later.)

Not every person with Down syndrome will have every single feature, and a person can have one or more of these features and not have Down syndrome.

I think one of the most obvious ones is the upward slant to the eyes - or almond shaped eyes.

With Kayla it was her eyes, at least for me. I saw it right away in her eyes and I just knew. There were other characteristics to look for, but I didn't know what these were until later.

A small nose with a flat-bridge. I think Kayla's nose is pretty small, we've always said she had a little button nose, but it seems in proportion to her face. I don't know if she has a flat bridge or not, maybe it is kind of flat, or maybe I'm just used to it so I don't notice it :)


Extreme close-up of her eye! I guess she has an epicanthal fold but it doesn't seem as pronounced to me. I think she has Brushfield spots (small white spots around the iris) but I'm not completley sure if that is what I'm seeing.


When Kayla was born and I noticed her eyes I said "she does have Down syndrome doesn't she?" The midwife who delivered her looked her over quickly (she was a little busy trying to deliver the placenta!) . She opened Kayla's left hand and looked for something (I didn't know what at the time), she shook her head no, but was noncommittal. She was looking for a single crease running across the palm. Kayla has this on her right hand, but not the left, and the midwife never looked at her right hand. (Again, a person can have this single crease and not have Down syndrome).


Then the midwife drew an imaginary line from the outside corner of Kayla's eye to her ear and said her ears weren't low-set. Some people with Down syndrome do have low-set ears and/or a small fold on the top of the ear, Kayla doesn't have that characteristic - her ears are just pretty typical!


Another characteristic I learned about later was a small gap in between the big toe and the next toe. For the longest time I didn't think Kayla had this -seriously! I didn't notice a gap, her toes all appeared to stay together. As she got older, maybe it was after she started walking, I don't quite remember, I suddenly noticed it - that little gap! Sometimes it depends on what she is doing, how she is standing etc...because sometimes it doesn't seem to be there.


Curved pinky fingers. Yep, both of Kayla's cute pinky fingers curve inwards. She also has shorter fingers.


There are more characteristics, but these are the ones I could think of that Kayla has, or doesn't have.
Reposting this as part of the Disability Blog Hop!