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HOUGHTON - Karyn Juntunen's class of 12 moderately cognitively-impaired adults was listening to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration radio station Tuesday morning to figure out what the weather would be like for the day, and they heard it would be rainy and cool.

Learning about the day's weather is one of the things Juntunen's students do during their class, which is conducted by the Copper Country Intermediate School District in a room at the Houghton Goodwill retail store on Razorback Drive.

Juntunen said three of her current students have Down Syndrome, and as with her other students, the challenges of their cognitive abilities are individual, with some being greater than others. Most can read at a high school level, but too much shouldn't be put into that fact.

"They can read, but comprehending is lower," she said.

Juntunen said those who read at a high-school level may comprehend at about fifth- or sixth-grade level.

Reading is taught to her students for enjoyment, function and safety, but there is a very practical reason for teaching them to read, Juntunen said.

"Our whole thing is teaching job skills," she said. "We do that as a group."

According to the Web site ds-health.com, Down Syndrome is named for English physician John Langdon Down, who described in 1866. Although the condition was called Mongolism for more than a century, in the 1970s, the name was changed in regular use by medical professionals to Down Syndrome because the former name was considered racist.

Portage Health pediatrician Rajanee Sripaipan, who has some patients with Down Syndrome, said the condition is the result of a chromosome defect.

In the general population, Sripaipan said there is a one in 750 chance a child will be born with Down Syndrome, but women who are 30 years old or older have a greater chance of giving birth to a Down Syndrome child.

There are three recognized types of Down Syndrome, Sripaipan said. The most common type, at 94 percent, is called Trisomy 21. The next two types are Translocation (3.3 percent) and Mosaic Trisomy 21 (2.4 percent).

Sripaipan said all people with Down Syndrome have certain similar physical characteristics, such as slanted eyes, smaller head, which is flat on its back, flat nose, small ears, the middle section of the pinky finger missing, a large spread between the first and second toe and spots on the iris of the eye.

Sripaipan said all people with Down Syndrome have some sort of mental retardation.

"The mental capacity can vary from severe to mild," she said. "Mostly they have moderate mental retardation. If they are moderate, they can be trained. They probably can help themselves."

Those with Mosaic Trisomy 21, generally have higher intelligence and less severe physical features, Sripaipan said.

One of the more severe problems for newborn babies with Down Syndrome involves a weakness in the ligaments around two neck vertebrae, Sripaipan said. If a child with the problem becomes active in sports as he or she gets older, it can present a life-threatening situation, because any compression of the neck could cause death. Constant checking of the neck with MRIs should be done to make certain the problem isn't getting worse.

"We have to monitor it every two years," she said.

About 50 percent of people with Down Syndrome also have congenital heart problems, Sripaipan said. There are often problems also with the thyroid gland and the duodenum, immune deficiencies, autism, teeth, sleep disorders and leukemia.

"Children (with Down Syndrome) are 14 times more prone to leukemia than the general population," she said. "Locally, no kids with Down Syndrome have leukemia."

Sripaipan said she has seven patients with Down Syndrome.

The life expectancy of people with Down Syndrome is about 50 years, Sripaipan said, mostly because of the heart problems.

Juntunen said the people with Down Syndrome she teaches are generally polite and have a good sense of humor. However, many of the males often let their "male pride" get in the way of them asking for assistance if they run into a problem.

"It's difficult for them to ask for help," she said.

Juntunen said some of her students, including those with Down Syndrome, work at the Goodwill Store or at other retailers, particularly supermarkets.

Life goals vary by the student, Juntunen said, but they do have some choices.

"It depends where they want to go," she said.

Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@ mininggazette.com.