Most of you know that if there’s one thing I’m adamant about (yeah, I know–I’m adamant about lots of stuff. Keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times, and let’s go on a little ride, shall we?), it’s the fact that the chaos that follows Mason has very little to do with Down syndrome, and a whole lot to do with the fact that he’s just that kind of kid.

But from a practical standpoint, there are a few Down syndrome related issues that do impact our daily life. One of these is the low muscle tone/ligament laxity issue, technically termed “hypotonia.”

Often, prospective adoptive parents will ask questions about various conditions in order to be prepared with specific challenges the child might face. I realized that there are several things a parent needs to be aware of concerning the challenges posed by hypotonia. So I comprised (in no particular order) the following list:

A hypotonic child can put his leg straight up so that his foot is in his big sister’s face while riding in the car seat, and he can just leave it there with no effort on his part.

No matter where you put the box of wipies on the bed while during a diaper change, he can hike his leg up and kick them off the bed.

Carrying the hypotonic child is similar to trying to hold on to a large bag of water with a 30-pound ferret inside.

Regardless of how securely you fasten the buckle in the shopping cart, the child with hypotonia will be able to escape, usually in the check out line as you are explaining to the sacker that you would like the cold items bagged together.  (Incidentally, other shoppers find the sight of a small child riding on the checkout conveyor belt quite amusing….)

A hypotonic child can reach behind his back without any detectible upper-body rotation and grab glass bottles out of the shopping cart and hurl them onto the concrete in the parking lot, making his older brother believe that there has been a drive-by shooting, and that since he doesn’t feel any pain, the target must have been their mother whom he expects to drop to the ground at any moment.

Although no scientific studies have been conducted on the matter, anecdotal evidence would indicate that hypotoina is associated with mad dancing skills.

Tags: dancing, Down syndrome, hypotrophy, ligament laxity, low muscle tone