Down Syndrome

In the lab, Mitosis, Meiosis and Fertilization, students use sockosome models of chromosomes (made from pairs of socks) to understand the processes of mitosis, meiosis and fertilization. Students are also introduced to the concept that understanding meiosis and fertilization provides the basis for understanding genetics and learn how a mistake in meiosis can result in Down Syndrome.

This past summer, I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship, which funded an NGO internship in Oaxaca, Mexico for four weeks. I worked at a school that taught children of all ages (infants to teenagers) who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome. Because my Spanish was not exactly comprehensible at first, I had a hard time communicating with the students. However, one of the students sensed my timidity with the language and would occasionally strike up a conversation with me, speaking with a tone of support and patience. Every other day, we had an hour designated to a “dance party,” which was sometimes their only form of exercise. I, again, was shy at