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?Buddy Walk? for Down syndrome set Saturday at Kirby Park
Source: Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
09/20/2005

The first Wyoming Valley Buddy Walk will be held Saturday at Kirby Park. The event is designed to raise awareness of Down syndrome, to raise money for research and to support advocacy efforts on behalf of those afflicted.

The National Down Syndrome Society established the Buddy Walk in 1995 and since then more than 1 million people have joined in local walks across the country. Now it is Wilkes-Barre?s turn.

Scott Crispell, a member of the Luzerne County Down Syndrome Network and proud father of Quinn, a 2-year-old with Down syndrome, said the network started in June with the purpose of organizing a Buddy Walk in the area. Many of the Luzerne County Down Syndrome Network members had attended Buddy Walks in other areas such as Allentown and New York City and they wanted to bring the awareness the walk generates to the Wyoming Valley area.

The local group is made up of family members and friends of individuals with Down syndrome. Crispell said network members want to ?get the word out to people who don?t know about Down syndrome and help dispel the myths surrounding Down syndrome.?

Registration will begin at 9 a.m., warm-up exercises at 9:30 and the 1-mile walk will start at 10. For more information, to register or to get a pledge form, call 333-5941. The event will be held rain or shine. There will be food, games and music for all ages.

? Individuals with Down syndrome are more like us than they are different.

? Down syndrome is a genetic condition that causes physical and intellectual delays.

? 40 percent of children born with Down syndrome will have congenital heart defects.

? Children with Down syndrome have a higher incidence of infection, respiratory, vision and hearing problems, as well as thyroid and other medical conditions.

? Down syndrome is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder, affecting one in every 800 live births.

? Individuals with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46.

? The syndrome is usually identified by physical characteristics initially after birth and confirmed by a chromosomal study (karyotype).

? The syndrome is caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction at conception, not related to anything the mother did during pregnancy.

? Incidence of Down syndrome increases with advancing maternal age. However, 80 percent of children with Down syndrome are born to women under age 35.

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Copyright ?2004 Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. All Rights Reserved.

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