Major Symptoms Linked To Triple X Syndrome

Triple X syndrome or trisomy X is a disorder where a female has three X chromosomes in all or some of their cells instead of the two X chromosomes normally present in the cells of females. This condition occurs due to a random genetic mutation and is not inherited. In healthy individuals, a sex chromosome comes from each parent to make a pair. An individual will always inherit an X chromosome from their mother, but they can inherit either an X or a Y chromosome from their father.

If the pair is XX, the individual is female, and if the pair is XY, the individual is male. The extra X chromosome in females with trisomy X occurs due to a spontaneous error that happens during cell division of the reproductive cells before conception or during embryonic development. Some females affected by triple X syndrome will never experience any symptoms, while others may exhibit various problematic symptoms.

Learning Disabilities

Some girls affected by triple X syndrome may develop issues with the normal process of learning. Learning disabilities is a term that serves as an umbrella over a range of neurological disorders in the normal learning process with several degrees of severity. These types of disabilities involve the individual having difficulty in one or more of the essential neurological processes. The process of input includes visual and auditory perception, while the process of integration includes sequencing, organization, and abstraction.

The process of memory includes working memory, long-term memory, and short-term memory, and the process of output includes expressive language. Learning disabilities can present with the individual having issues with learning how to read, write, spell, and use normal language. Triple X syndrome can result in problems with organizing, following instructions, doing mathematics, memorization, and using spoken language. Sensory impairments, emotional disturbances, and intellectual disabilities are not contained within the classification of learning disabilities

Motor Skill Issues

Motor skill issues may manifest in girls affected by triple X syndrome. This can range in severity from minor clumsiness to very poor coordination. These problems can manifest as trouble with gross motor skills or movement of the large muscles in the legs, arms, and torso. Body movements such as climbing and jumping jacks may be difficult for an affected child with this type of motor skill difficulty. A girl who has triple X syndrome may have trouble with her motor planning skills or ability to remember and perform the steps that make a movement occur.

She may have trouble with regular activities like zipping zippers, buttoning clothing, brushing teeth, and tying shoelaces. Those who have triple X syndrome may have issues with their fine motor skills or ability to make movements with the small muscles in the wrists and hands. These fine motor skill issues may make it hard for the child to use scissors, draw, write, complete puzzles, build models, and play with a ball. Motor skill problems will manifest as an initial inability to complete an activity and not a regression in the ability to complete an activity that has already been learned.

Anxiety And Depression

Triple X syndrome patients often experience frequent bouts of anxiety and depression. Anxiety is a psychological disorder best characterized by feelings of excessive fear, worry, nervousness, and apprehension. These emotions and feelings can manifest deep enough in an individual to cause physiological symptoms such as an increased heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration rate. Triple X syndrome can also cause a patient to experience depression, a disorder characterized by a loss of interest and a persistent feeling of sadness.

For most affected individuals, depression will cause noticeable difficulty with day-to-day activities and or responsibilities. The patient may have trouble maintaining normal social relationships, performing satisfactory functions at work, or maintaining acceptable academic performance. Young children affected by triple X syndrome that manifests as depression may exhibit irritability, worry, refusal to go to school, sadness, clinginess, being underweight, pains and aches. Girls who are affected by triple X syndrome with precipitated depression will often feel generally unhappy or miserable without having an understanding of why.

Symptoms Of Autism

Triple X syndrome may sometimes produce symptoms similar to those that occur in an individual affected by autism spectrum disorder. ASD is a developmental disability where the individual has difficulty with communication, behavior, and interaction with others. A girl affected by triple X syndrome may have poor social skills and not know how to have close relationships with others. At a young age, she will often prefer to be alone, avoid eye contact, reject physical contact, and won't understand the emotions of her own and others.

Delayed language skills and speech, repeating the same phrase over and over, being unable to stay on topic in conversation, poor understanding of joking or sarcasm, and a flat robotic voice are all symptoms that may occur in an individual affected by autism or triple X syndrome. More severe symptoms that may occur in these individuals include sensitivity to sounds and lights, constant moving, fixations on certain objects, certain rituals or routines, picky eating habits, aggressive behavior, impulsiveness, and odd repetitive behaviors.

Delayed Skill Development

While every child develops at their own pace, children affected by triple X syndrome may exhibit considerable delays in normal development. These delays can be in the areas of physical, mental, and emotional growth. When a child does not begin to say words or make verbal indications when they should, it is considered a developmental delay. A physical developmental delay can be included when the child does not sit up, crawl, stand, or walk independently within the normal age range.

The child affected by triple X syndrome may exhibit a visual delay where their eyes do not coordinate with each other when they should. Delays in cognitive development can occur in triple X syndrome patients where the child does not have the ability to learn, think, and solve problems they should for their respective age. This symptom is commonly the first indication of the presence of triple X syndrome to be noticed in affected children.