Lesson 1: Predisposition, Biological Factors, and the Brain
Misunderstood condition marked by sudden rage
A last example for this section is Fragile X syndrome. This syndrome is a rare genetically linked disorder that affects the mental ability of its sufferers and may make individuals overly aggressive. It is caused by a mutation of a gene on the X chromosome, the symptoms of which often resemble those of autism, hyperactivity, and attention deficit disorder. Please review the following article that describes the experiences of one family dealing with Fragile X syndrome. (Susan Ruttan, Edmo)
Aggressive, autistic, and affectionate are just a few ways to describe the Smiths’ three children.
When strangers glare at her often-unruly children, Jane Smith has a ready response. She’s given it so often that she’s had it printed up on a business card to hand out.
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“I am sorry if some of the noises I make or the things that I do distract you or bother you,” it says. “I am not doing them on purpose. I have fragile X syndrome, and this causes me to do some things that I don’t have any control over…” |
“Things can happen right out of the blue,” said mom Jane in an interview in the family home”.
To have a child with fragile X syndrome, say parents, is to face endless ignorance and misunderstanding about the genetically inherited condition that so severely affects their child.
Raising three children with fragile X, as Jane and John Smith have, is a burden to daunt all but the most dedicated parents. The Smiths’ three children, nine-year-old identical twins Bill and Ted and their little sister Joan, six, look like blond, bubbly angels.
Watching the kids at home after school, with Bill and Ted drawing pictures in the living room and Joan playing with her Barbies in her bedroom, they appear unexceptional.
Only the frantic, exhausting pace of their play, the twins’ limited speech, and the scratches on Joan’s arm hint at the challenges they pose.
Fragile X syndrome causes mental retardation and a variety of behavioral problems that may include autism and aggression. The mix of problems in each fragile X child is different; what unites them is a genetic test that proves they have the syndrome.
In the Smith’s family, all three of their children can burst into sudden rages, especially Bill and Joan.
Each of them may attack their siblings, destroy the furniture or hurt themselves. And of course, one raging child sets off the others. Three siblings with fragile X are more than the sum of their parts.