toms, and it does not readily show itself as an inherited disorder. Symptoms range from hyperactivity and shyness to learning disorders and sever mental retardation. Patients often have difficulty learning and behavior problems from clapping their hands on their things like ducks flapping their wings when excited to outbursts of emotional rage when their daily routine is altered “A person with Fragile-X may have a long face, long ears, flat feet and unusually flexible fingers. They often must contend with attention deficit disorder and other mental impairments, including hyperactivity, anxiety and autistic-like behavior, some of which can be improved by drug therapy. No therapy for the underlying condition has yet been found” (Edelson 1).
While having a child diagnosed with Fragile-X Syndrome can be emotionally devastating on the family, different degrees of symptoms exist in different persons with the disorder. Females often show few symptoms and require little or no treatment for the disorder. However, “About 98 percent of all males with Fragile-X syndrome have some mental retardation-about half of those in the mild range” (Signor 2). Still, some families learn to cope well and provide as normal a childhood experience as possible for their afflicted children. Margaret Israel’s son Sam is 19 and was diagnosed with the disorder as a young child. She admits educational matters are a challenge for those with Fragile-X Syndrome “When they enter school, youngsters like Sam sometimes are placed in classes with severely mentally retarded children. One reason is that although they know a great deal, they f
...