Trisomy 21 (eBook)

Dr. André Frank Zimpel ist Professor für Erziehungswissenschaft unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Förderschwerpunktes Geistige Entwicklung und mit dem Forschungsschwerpunkt Rehabilitationspsychologische Diagnostik an der Universität Hamburg.

Cover 1
Title Page 4
Copyright 5
Table of Contents 6
Body 10
Foreword 10
I. Genes and society 12
A silent cognitive revolution 12
Well meant 13
Mentally disabled, even before birth? 14
Three times 21 15
Has our society decided? 16
Down’s Heritage 18
47 chromosomes rather than 46 19
Mutations 20
Eugenics, compulsory sterilization and euthanasia 21
Fear of low IQ 23
Genetics and epigenetics 24
A picture is worth a thousand words 25
Summary 27
II. The brain and intelligence 28
Head size and intelligence tests 28
IQ as gatekeeper 30
Why being different is normal 31
Am I stupid? 33
Genes for brain growth or stress in early childhood? 34
Brain growth and evolution 36
Birdbrained geniuses 37
The human brain is a social tool 38
The brain as a learning tool 40
Accelerating thinking through abstraction 41
Mouse memory 42
The seat of learning 44
Memory is distributed across the brain 46
Summary 47
III. Neurotransmitters and neuroenhancement 49
Enzymes: catalysts in the brain 49
Acetylcholine and the fear of Alzheimer’s 51
Donepezil: doping for the brain 53
How the brain neutralizes medication 55
Dopamine: addictive stimulation 56
Glutamate: more than just a matter of taste 58
Memantine: hope for a learning pill 59
GABA: inhibit inhibition 61
Basmisanil: release the brakes in the brain 62
Brain doping: cleverer by prescription? 63
Neuroenhancement or essential drug? 65
Summary 66
IV. Neurodiversity and attention 67
Serotonin, an endogenous antidepressant 67
Oxytocin: cuddling depression away 69
Norepinephrine: rock ‘n’ roll in the brain 70
Humans are different and mice too 72
Neurodiversity instead of neurodegeneration 73
Removing the fear of aging 75
Studying at university with trisomy 21? 76
Learning from rabbis and nuns 77
Segregation already begins with speech 79
Empathy for neurodiversity 80
Motor learning and the 21st chromosome 82
Acetylcholine in the striate body 84
Emotion and the 21st chromosome 85
Short-term memory and the 21st chromosome 87
Learning in sleep 89
At the focal point of the stream of thoughts 91
The bifurcation diagram: calculation and hypothesis 93
Summary 96
V. Attention and memory 97
Navon figures 97
The overall shape and details 100
Dice-pip and interference images 103
Abstraction means “draw away from …” 107
The scope of attention 110
The magical number four 111
Measuring the scope of attention 113
Memory and matching pairs 117
Reveal the numbers in sequence 121
Object permanence 123
Observe and remember causalities 124
Abstract thought in the pushchair 127
Mouse and duck theater 128
Supersigns and abstraction 132
Summary 134
VI. Imitation and motor learning | Alfred Christoph Röhm 136
Juggling in a small attention window 136
Auditory and haptic scope of attention 137
Proprioception – endogenous perception 139
Scope of attention for proprioception 141
Body percussion 142
Successful imitation depends on the number of micromotions 144
Dialogic learning requires creativity 145
Summary 146
VII. Speech and thought | Kim Lena Hurtig-Bohn 148
The window to a child’s head 148
The prefrontal cortex and private speech 149
The development of private speech in childhood 151
Private speech in pedagogy 152
The zone of proximal development 153
Private speech and trisomy 21 154
Private speech in autism spectrum disorders 156
Summary 157
VIII. Cognitive development and mathematics | Torben Rieckmann 159
Trisomy 21 and mathematics? 159
Trisomy 21 and dyscalculia 160
Clustering and supersigns 162
The power of five 166
Deliberately use teaching materials 168
Appropriate visual aids 171
Summary 175
IX. Communication and emotion | Angela Kalmutzke 176
It’s great that you have a child with Down syndrome! 176
Respect for the essence of and confidence in learning ability 178
On life and death 180
Late termination of pregnancy 182
Opting for life 184
The social matrix 185
Behavioral problems today, personality disorders tomorrow? 189
Promoting self-worth 192
Summary 196
Afterword 197
Literature 201