9 MYTHS ABOUT RAISING A BABY WITH DOWN SYNDROME:
In talking about John David’s future, Mary Beth says,
“I can only share the truth about Down Syndrome according to my own experiences. In the last two years my eyes have been opened to the truth about this wonderful group of people and I’m not only thankful for those who realized there is so much more to our kids but also their parents who said “enough!” and stood up to what we have traditionally believed about the affects of the 21st chromosome. Before John David was born I didn’t know how to talk to a mom with a child with certain special needs. In fact, people with special needs made me uncomfortable. I wanted to treat them like everyone else but didn’t know how. Moms with kids with special needs aren’t asking you not to see that there is a difference. We are just asking you to give our kids a chance because we know there is so much more to them beyond what our world has traditionally believed to be true. We don’t like stereotypes even if the stereotype may seen like a compliment. We would rather our kids be recognized as an individual than categorized as “sweet” or “loving”. The best gift you can give a kid with special needs is to treat him like an individual with individual goals and dreams.
For example, one month I decided to teach John David to read. Yes, at 21 months and with an extra chromosome, I was hoping he could learn to read. And he did. After two weeks he mastered 15 words without much effort. I don’t think I learned the difference between “boat” and “boot” until the 1st grade. He points to his body parts when he sees the word and when he sees the word “dog” he says “woof!”. We are now moving on to the next 15 words.
Our goals for John David are great! We have high expectations for him but we also know that the road he will travel may be harder than the road his brother will travel. We don’t know what he will achieve in his lifetime but we do know that having him has made us look at life and humanity in such a different way. We can’t wait to see how he will affect the people he comes in contact with because at 22 months he’s drastically changed us. The future is bright!”
Myths, Story and Image retreived from: http://www.fudgebananaswirl.com/9-myths-about-raising-a-baby-with-down-syndrome/
- Children with Down syndrome must be placed in separate special education programs.
- People with Down Syndrome do not have typical relationships with people without Down Syndrome.
- People with Down Syndrome don’t know they have Down Syndrome.
- People with Down Syndrome do not marry.
- People with Down Syndrome will live at home forever.
- People with Down syndrome are always happy and sweet.
- People with Down syndrome die young.
- People with Down syndrome are very similar to each other.
- People with Down Syndrome do not learn beyond a certain level.
In talking about John David’s future, Mary Beth says,
“I can only share the truth about Down Syndrome according to my own experiences. In the last two years my eyes have been opened to the truth about this wonderful group of people and I’m not only thankful for those who realized there is so much more to our kids but also their parents who said “enough!” and stood up to what we have traditionally believed about the affects of the 21st chromosome. Before John David was born I didn’t know how to talk to a mom with a child with certain special needs. In fact, people with special needs made me uncomfortable. I wanted to treat them like everyone else but didn’t know how. Moms with kids with special needs aren’t asking you not to see that there is a difference. We are just asking you to give our kids a chance because we know there is so much more to them beyond what our world has traditionally believed to be true. We don’t like stereotypes even if the stereotype may seen like a compliment. We would rather our kids be recognized as an individual than categorized as “sweet” or “loving”. The best gift you can give a kid with special needs is to treat him like an individual with individual goals and dreams.
For example, one month I decided to teach John David to read. Yes, at 21 months and with an extra chromosome, I was hoping he could learn to read. And he did. After two weeks he mastered 15 words without much effort. I don’t think I learned the difference between “boat” and “boot” until the 1st grade. He points to his body parts when he sees the word and when he sees the word “dog” he says “woof!”. We are now moving on to the next 15 words.
Our goals for John David are great! We have high expectations for him but we also know that the road he will travel may be harder than the road his brother will travel. We don’t know what he will achieve in his lifetime but we do know that having him has made us look at life and humanity in such a different way. We can’t wait to see how he will affect the people he comes in contact with because at 22 months he’s drastically changed us. The future is bright!”
Myths, Story and Image retreived from: http://www.fudgebananaswirl.com/9-myths-about-raising-a-baby-with-down-syndrome/