Down Syndrome

A young woman wearing a pale purple headband and a matching t-shirt cuts a piece of pale blue paper into strips while she sits at a sunlit table.
Rebecca Newlon, 19, who has Down syndrome, participates in an internship job at her former elementary school in McHenry, Ill.
Taylor Glascock for Education Week
Special Education Older Students Face Time Crunch in Getting Crucial Special Education Services
Many students with disabilities missed out on key transition services during the pandemic. Advocates are pushing schools to make up for lost time.
Evie Blad, October 14, 2022
10 min read
Special Education Young Adults With Down Syndrome Star in New Cable Reality Show
"Born this Way," featuring seven young adults with Down syndrome, premieres at 10 p.m. ET December 8 on the A&E network.
Christina A. Samuels, December 7, 2015
2 min read
School & District Management Students With Down Syndrome Grow a Community for Research
A federal registry aims to connect students with Down syndrome to each other and to researchers.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 16, 2015
1 min read
Special Education NIH Resets Study Plans for Down Syndrome
The new agenda calls for more research on how students with Down syndrome can experience improved learning and memory and participate more in schooling.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 13, 2015
5 min read
Student Well-Being Teenager With Down Syndrome to Play for Harlem Globetrotters
The illustrious basketball career of Kevin Grow added another chapter on Tuesday, as the Harlem Globetrotters announced that the teenager will suit up for the squad next month in Philadelphia as a "three-point specialist."
Bryan Toporek, February 26, 2014
1 min read
School & District Management Prenatal Treatment Cuts Learning Deficits in Mice With Down Syndrome
Mice with a Down syndrome-like condition had better memory and learning skills after being treated while still developing in the womb, new research shows.
Nirvi Shah, December 6, 2012
2 min read
Special Education Advocates: Uphold Grad. Rate Accountability Under NCLB Waivers
When reviewing some states' waiver applications, the Alliance for Excellent Education found that several of those approved inflate grad rates by combining calculations of the graduation rate that include GEDs with the four-year adjusted cohort rate, use alternative diplomas in their measure of high school completion, omit graduation rate accountability for student subgroups, and use extended-year graduation rates.
Nirvi Shah, October 22, 2012
2 min read
Special Education Student-Athlete With Down Syndrome Allowed to Play His Senior Year
Eric Dompierre, a 19-year-old Michigan student-athlete with Down syndrome, will be allowed to participate on his high school's football and basketball teams, the Michigan High School Athletic Association announced today.
Bryan Toporek, August 9, 2012
1 min read
Special Education Text-to-Speech App Now Features Children's Voices
For the first time, children who cannot speak or who have speech impairments and use the text-to-speech app Proloquo2Go will sound a little more like themselves, thanks to months of work recording real children speaking.
Nirvi Shah, July 30, 2012
3 min read
Special Education U.S. Lawmakers Create Caucus Devoted to Dyslexia
The founders, one a Republican and one Democrat, are both parents of children with dyslexia.
Nirvi Shah, May 11, 2012
1 min read
Student Well-Being Student-Athlete With Down Syndrome May Retain Athletic Eligibility
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is allowing member schools to vote on on changing the constitution to allow for flexibility with the maximum age requirement, under "narrowly defined circumstances."
Bryan Toporek, May 10, 2012
2 min read
Student Well-Being Mich. Student With Down Syndrome Fights for Athletic Eligibility
Michigan's Senate Education Committee unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday urging the Michigan High School Athletic Association to adopt a policy allowing eligibility waivers for students with disabilities in limited circumstances.
Bryan Toporek, May 3, 2012
1 min read
Special Education Breakthroughs in Diagnosing, One Day Preventing Autism
A new collection of research makes it possible to diagnose autism in those with Down syndrome, and diagnose autism earlier--and possibly prevent it.
Nirvi Shah, October 17, 2011
3 min read
Special Education Student With Disability Eligible for School, but Not Sports
A North Carolina high school student who has Down syndrome is 19, which is too old to play on the school football team, according to state rules. But Brett Bowden can attend school until his 22nd birthday.
Nirvi Shah, August 10, 2011
1 min read