Rett Syndrome
Inside Rett Syndrome
Christina Wenn
April 10, 2013
Rett syndrome is a genetic disorder that I have dealt with first-hand. I babysat a set of twins in my neighborhood, and one of the twins, Morgan, was diagnosed with Rett syndrome as an infant. I started babysitting the twins, Morgan and Ryan, when I was a freshman in high school, but I mainly took care of Morgan. She would giggle and smile, but other than that she was mute. Morgan ate baby food and watched Disney movies. She also wore a diaper, and was unable to walk. It was hard on the family when they found out that one of their twins had Rett syndrome. Ryan is completely normal, and experienced his childhood just as every other kid did. The parents needed a babysitter because Ryan was unable to take care of Morgan on his own. I babysat the twins up until Morgan’s death at the age of twelve. Morgan’s death was not only hard on the family, but was also hard for me as well. Even though Morgan was mute, she still knew who I was, and would laugh along with the rest of her family. The family knew that Morgan was not going to live very long, but that still didn’t make it any easier when she passed. Her siblings treated her as if nothing was wrong, and would take her everywhere that they went. Morgan touched the lives of everyone that knew her, and I am grateful that she was able to be a part of my life.
Besides having a close relationship with a child with Rett syndrome, I have always found it fascinating that this disorder is almost exclusively expressed in females. Attending an all girl school is really getting to me! I wonder if the other twin had been a girl, would she too have had Rett syndrome? It was after encountering a child with Rett syndrome that I wanted to learn more about this genetic disorder.
Rett syndrome is an X-linked dominant neurodevelopmental disorder that affects females almost exclusively, even though some reports of males with Rett syndrome have been reported. Rett syndrome is
Christina Wenn
April 10, 2013
Rett syndrome is a genetic disorder that I have dealt with first-hand. I babysat a set of twins in my neighborhood, and one of the twins, Morgan, was diagnosed with Rett syndrome as an infant. I started babysitting the twins, Morgan and Ryan, when I was a freshman in high school, but I mainly took care of Morgan. She would giggle and smile, but other than that she was mute. Morgan ate baby food and watched Disney movies. She also wore a diaper, and was unable to walk. It was hard on the family when they found out that one of their twins had Rett syndrome. Ryan is completely normal, and experienced his childhood just as every other kid did. The parents needed a babysitter because Ryan was unable to take care of Morgan on his own. I babysat the twins up until Morgan’s death at the age of twelve. Morgan’s death was not only hard on the family, but was also hard for me as well. Even though Morgan was mute, she still knew who I was, and would laugh along with the rest of her family. The family knew that Morgan was not going to live very long, but that still didn’t make it any easier when she passed. Her siblings treated her as if nothing was wrong, and would take her everywhere that they went. Morgan touched the lives of everyone that knew her, and I am grateful that she was able to be a part of my life.
Besides having a close relationship with a child with Rett syndrome, I have always found it fascinating that this disorder is almost exclusively expressed in females. Attending an all girl school is really getting to me! I wonder if the other twin had been a girl, would she too have had Rett syndrome? It was after encountering a child with Rett syndrome that I wanted to learn more about this genetic disorder.
Rett syndrome is an X-linked dominant neurodevelopmental disorder that affects females almost exclusively, even though some reports of males with Rett syndrome have been reported. Rett syndrome is
Citations: Science in Context. 2007. For "Rett Syndrome." <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/scic/AcademicJournalsDetailsPage/AcademicJournalsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SCIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Journals&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA305753658>. Online Mendelian Inheritance of Man (OMIM), http://omim.org/entry/312750 (for Rett syndrome MIM 312750). 1986. Web.