• Question: how are some children born with a disabilities ?

    Asked by 424furk43 to Chris, Joanne, Kathryn, Kieran, Sarah on 8 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Kathryn Schoenrock

      Kathryn Schoenrock answered on 8 Nov 2017:

      Some kids are born with inherited diseases or disorders because their parents have the same disorder present in their genetic code. DNA is passed from both parents to their children and even if the disorder is not presenting, or seen, in a parent it will could become present in the kid. We have two copies of 22 chromosomes (1 from each parent) and one sex chromosome from each- boys have an X and Y chromosomes, girls have two Xs. This is where it gets a bit complicated- if a gene with a disorder is DOMINANT it will be seen in a child with one or two chromosomes containing that mutated gene. If it is RECESSIVE then you need two copies of the mutated gene to see the disorder in a child. That is why you seen some inherited diseases/disorders in children (2 copies) but not the parents (1 copy each).

    • Photo: Chris Werner

      Chris Werner answered on 8 Nov 2017:

      There are a lot of different causes. Some of them are inherited problems deep in their genetics, as both parents have a copy of a particular recessive gene, and the baby ends up with two copies. Some of them are genetic copying problems the baby’s chromosomes just aren’t formed correctly. There are also things that can happen during development or during birth that can cause disabilities as well

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