Kristy, what is Mosaic Down syndrome (MDS)?
Mosaic Down syndrome is considered a rare form of Down syndrome. According to research, 2-4% of the Ds community has MDS. However, we realize that this is based on misdiagnosis and there is a much larger percent of individuals with MDS. When a person has mosaic Down syndrome, a percentage of their cells have an extra copy of the 21st chromosome and the remaining cells are unaffected. What is the typical age for parents to find out that their child has MDS? Typically, a child is diagnosed with mosaic Down syndrome between the age of 1 and 3. The reason for this is because the majority of people with mosaic Down syndrome do not exhibit the strong physical characteristics similar to Down syndrome and most doctors are not aware of this even exists. However, since IMDSA has been in existence more babies have been diagnosed than ever before. Your son Tim was diagnosed with MDS, what gave you an indication that he needed to be tested and at what age? I had no idea that he had a
