The Adult Down Syndrome Center is a health care clinic for adolescents and adults with Down syndrome in Park Ridge, Illinois.
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Established in 1992, the Adult Down Syndrome Center was the first and remains one of the largest clinics for adolescents and adults with Down syndrome in the United States. Part of Advocate Health Care, it is located on the campus of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois. The Adult Down Syndrome Center and its providers are nationally recognized for their expertise in providing healthcare for adolescents and adults with Down syndrome. They have received awards from many organizations including the National Down Syndrome Congress, Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group, and the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians. The physicians at the Center – Brian Chicoine, MD and Erin Dominiak, MD – have been recognized as Top Doctors by Chicago Magazine and Castle Connolly. The Center engages in patient-centered research and clinical trials. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded the Center along with the University of Chicago an INCLUDE project grant. The Center was also selected as one of four Center of Excellence Sites for the Down Syndrome Clinical Trials Network launched by LuMind IDSC Foundation. The Center is also committed to sharing its knowledge and experience with others. The Center’s co-founders Brian Chicoine, MD and Dennis McGuire, PhD have published two books – Mental Wellness in Adults with Down Syndrome: A Guide to Emotional and Behavioral Strengths and Challenges and The Guide to Good Health for Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome. Staff at the Center frequently present at local and national events including the National Down Syndrome Congress Convention and the National Down Syndrome Society Adult Summit. Information is also shared in an extensive online Resource Library that covers a broad range of physical and psychosocial health topics (https://adscresources.advocatehealth.com). We help people with Down syndrome live well. To help support our mission, please visit: https://advocategiving.org/adsc/
02/26/2026
Looking for a fun way to learn about making healthy choices? Check out our Healthy Lifestyles Activity Book! It contains coloring pages, word searches, mazes, and other activities. The topics covered are:
🍎 Eating healthy food
😴 Getting good sleep
🏃🏾♀️ Being active
💧 Drinking water
😌 Feeling relaxed (stress management)
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can affect women with and without Down syndrome in the week or two before their periods begin. Symptoms include anxiety, irritability, depression, weight gain, breast tenderness, and abdominal pain, among others. It is sometimes difficult for women with Down syndrome to express their discomfort while experiencing these symptoms. Caregivers may notice changes in behavior related to the timing of a woman's menstrual cycle.
Hannah Graham, MD, one of the physicians at the Adult Down Syndrome Center, shares more information on PMS in women with Down syndrome in the article linked below.
Katie Frank, PhD, OTR/L, the occupational therapist at the Adult Down Syndrome Center, will discuss transitions - from major changes such as graduating high school or moving out of the house to smaller changes such as adjusting to a new pair of shoes or transitioning between activities.
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Time: 10:30 a.m. Central Time
Location: Zoom
Cost: Free
🩸 Elevated Globulin Levels in People with Down Syndrome🩸
Globulins are antibodies (also called immunoglobulins) and other proteins in the blood that help the immune system function. The globulin blood test is commonly included in a chemistry panel ordered during regular health checkups.
Elevated globulin levels are a common finding in people with Down syndrome. High globulin levels can happen with infections, autoimmune conditions, and other conditions. However, people with Down syndrome often have higher globulin levels even when they do not have one of those conditions.
This ongoing increase in globulin levels is related to chronic “hyperactivation” of the immune system in Down syndrome. Brian Chicoine, MD, Medical Director of the Adult Down Syndrome Center, shares more information about elevated globulin levels in people with Down syndrome in the article linked below.
🔗 https://adscresources.advocatehealth.com/resources/elevated-globulin/
02/22/2026
Health passports are documents that individuals with Down syndrome and their families can fill out to share information with healthcare professionals. Health passports can include:
🗣 how a person communicates,
😧 signs that they are in pain or anxious,
😌 what they do to calm down,
👍 likes/dislikes,
➕ and more
These documents can be particularly helpful if an individual goes to the hospital and interacts with healthcare professionals who may not know them. There are some versions that have been developed specifically for people with Down syndrome or other intellectual and developmental disabilities. See the article linked below to access free templates.
Brian Chicoine, MD, Medical Director of our Adult Down Syndrome Center, and Kandi Pickard, CEO of the National Down Syndrome Society, were guests on a recent episode of the Down Syndrome Center of Western PA's podcast. The podcast is hosted by Kishore Vellody, MD, the Medical Director of the Down Syndrome Center in Pennsylvania.
They discussed CARE Down Syndrome, a free clinical education and resource hub for healthcare professionals of adults with Down syndrome. CARE Down Syndrome was developed in collaboration with more than 40 experts with the goal of providing tools that:
🩺 improve care
👩🏽⚕️ increase diagnostic confidence
👍 support better health outcomes for adults with Down syndrome
We encourage people with Down syndrome and their families to share CARE Down Syndrome with their physicians and other health professionals!
02/20/2026
Triggers are situations that cause us to feel certain emotions. Some triggers may make us feel happy while other triggers may make us feel stressed, angry, or sad.
Triggers can vary from person to person. For example, one person might feel stressed at the thought of performing on stage while another person might feel happiness. Identifying our triggers is one step in learning how to manage our emotions effectively.
Our Resource Library has a set of visuals with examples of triggers for:
😀 happiness
😢 sadness
😧 stress
😡 anger
Depression is a common mental health condition diagnosed in people with Down syndrome. Some people with Down syndrome have difficulty describing and reporting their symptoms, so the diagnosis may be based more on others reporting observed behavior of the person with Down syndrome. For example, a family member may notice a change in the person’s self-talk or desire to participate in activities.
Treatment may include multiple approaches such as:
▪ Counseling
▪ Identifying and reducing stress
▪ Medications
▪ Establishing healthy eating, sleeping, and exercising routines
▪ Participating in affirming social activities
💤 Sleep apnea is common among individuals with Down syndrome.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children with Down syndrome between the ages of 3 and 4 years of age are screened for sleep apnea with a sleep study. Sleep apnea can develop at any age so, even if a person with Down syndrome had a sleep study as a child, a health care professional may recommend that they get another sleep study as they get older.
There are a variety of treatments available for sleep apnea including CPAP, hypoglossal nerve stimulation (Inspire), and others. It is important to diagnose and treat sleep apnea because untreated sleep apnea can cause many symptoms that impact daily life. Additionally, untreated sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in people with Down syndrome.
Our Resource Library has a Hygiene Chart that individuals with Down syndrome can use to keep track of when they complete tasks such as:
🛁 showering/bathing
🦷 brushing teeth
🪒 shaving
🪮 combing/brushing hair
🧴 using lotion
➕ and more!
There is a pre-made chart with common hygiene tasks as well as a template to make your own with your specific hygiene tasks. Visuals like this chart can encourage individuals with Down syndrome to take greater responsibility of their personal hygiene. The chart tells them what to do and when to do it (not mom or dad!). Check it out at the link below!
Connective tissue helps hold our bodies together. Due to genes on the 21st chromosome, people with Down syndrome have differences in their connective tissue compared to people without Down syndrome.
People with Down syndrome have a higher frequency of several conditions that may be related to differences in connective tissue including overpronation, atlantoaxial instability, keratoconus, hernias, varicose veins, and others. While there are not treatments for corrective tissue differences, there are treatments for conditions caused by the connective tissue differences.
There are many questions to consider when starting a new medication such as:
💊 Does the medication interact with any other medications or supplements you are taking?
💊 When should you take the medication?
💊 How can the medication be taken? Can it be crushed, split, etc.?
💊 What side effects might occur?
💊 When will you start to experience benefit from taking the medication?
💊 And others
For people with Down syndrome, there are a few additional factors we consider including whether the medication lowers blood pressure/pulse or has anticholinergic side effects (which people with Down syndrome tend to be more sensitive to).
In the article linked below, Brian Chicoine, MD, provides more information about questions that individuals with Down syndrome may want to ask their health care professionals when they are prescribed a new medication.
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Established in 1992, the Adult Down Syndrome Center was the first and remains the largest clinic for adolescents and adults with Down syndrome in the United States. Part of Advocate Aurora Health Care, it is located on the campus of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois.
Advocate Aurora Health is one of the 10 largest not-for-profit, integrated health systems in the United States. A national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, the system serves nearly 3 million patients annually in Illinois and Wisconsin across more than 500 sites of care.
The Adult Down Syndrome Center and its providers are nationally recognized for their expertise in providing healthcare for adolescents and adults with Down syndrome. They have received awards from many organizations including the National Down Syndrome Congress, Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group, and the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians. The physicians at the Center – Brian Chicoine, MD and Erin Dominiak, MD – have been recognized as Top Doctors by Chicago Magazine and Castle Connolly.
The Center engages in patient-centered research and clinical trials. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded the Center along with the University of Chicago an INCLUDE project grant. The Center was also selected as one of four Center of Excellence Sites for the Down Syndrome Clinical Trials Network launched by LuMind IDSC Foundation.
The Center is also committed to sharing its knowledge and experience with others. The Center’s co-founders Brian Chicoine, MD and Dennis McGuire, PhD have published two books – Mental Wellness in Adults with Down Syndrome: A Guide to Emotional and Behavioral Strengths and Challenges and The Guide to Good Health for Teens and Adults with Down Syndrome. Staff at the Center frequently present at local and national events including the National Down Syndrome Congress Convention and the National Down Syndrome Society Adult Summit. Information is also shared in an extensive online Resource Library that covers a broad range of physical and psychosocial health topics (https://adscresources.advocatehealth.com).
