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Kids with Down Syndrome – You’re Lucky If You Know Them
By Karla Whitmore
Before I go into how kids with DS are just people with a health problem, I want to tell you that just 13 years ago, I didn’t have a clue about Down Syndrome. I knew that it caused mental retardation and that people who had it looked a little different. That was all I knew and I certainly didn’t know how to react to someone who had it. The simple reason for that was that I had never been around someone who had DS for more than a few minutes at a time, such as in a grocery store or standing in line at an amusement park. My ignorance came from lack of exposure and not from prejudice. I believe that is the case with most people who are uncomfortable around DS kids and adults. Twelve years ago one of my best friends had a baby with Downs. I was lucky enough to be around to watch Hunter grow for a few years before I moved across the country. By the time he was able to walk, talk and interact, all of those around him were completely in love, including me. Two years ago, my daughter had a little girl who was born with DS. Jaydalyn Kaye, the light of our world, had health problems from the very beginning. She had digestive trouble, difficulties eating, hypothyroidism and worst of all, a hole between the valves in her heart. Jayda had been in the hospital for six weeks before my daughter was allowed to bring her home and in another six weeks, she had to go back for heart surgery. In the meantime, we fed her through a tube that had been inserted directly into her stomach. At four months old, she had open heart surgery to correct the defect. If you have ever seen a baby hooked up to tubes and wires with blood and fluids flowing through them, you know how heart-wrenching it can be. She now eats on her own and does not have to have the “G Tube” anymore. She has to take thyroid medication for the rest of her life and is participating in physical therapy to get her legs strong enough to walk. While she can pull up and walk around objects, walking on her own is still a challenge. Jayda says more words than her pediatrician expected her to say at her age and is learning faster than we were told she would (from what I hear, many DS kids outdo the “expected”). Jayda isn’t “special” because she has Down Syndrome. She’s special because she’s Jayda. Like Hunter, she is loved by everyone who is privileged enough to get to know her. I do believe my experience in getting to know Hunter helped me when it came to preparing for interaction with my granddaughter. Both of them are truly blessings. Hunter left this world just a few weeks ago. He was 12 years old. His time on this earth was brief, but he touched so many people! When we went to his memorial service, the auditorium was packed. We listened as person upon person gave accounts of the joy he had brought into their lives. Most of us don’t touch that many people in our average life span. Kids with DS really aren’t just “kids”. Because of health issues and mental incapacity, you tend to worry more, but the hope and love they bring outshines all that. Are they more important than “normal” kids? Of course not! They’re just different – and that “specialness” is not the handicap. That specialness is the extra blessing.
Karla Whitmore is a freelance web content writer who specializes in blogging, internet marketing,SEO writing, being a mom and grandmother, and procrastinating. You can learn more about her and what she does by checking out her blog KarlaWhitmore.Com or hubs.
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Contributor's Note
The link will take you to my latest hub on HubPages. The gorgeous child in the photo is my granddaughter. :)
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Down Syndrome Development: Giving Kids What They Need to Communicate and Grow
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
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Downs children and adults have one personality aspect that the rest of us could well benefit from - most of them find it difficult to dislike anybody. Most Downs children and adults out perform all the expectations of them because, despite many years of close study, the effect of Downs on mental and physical development is not really understood. In Spain there is now a concerted effort to enable Downs adults to live together and get married so that they can develop a true and independent life of their own.
The downs adults that I have had the pleasure of knowing have all had an "innocence" about them that is so wonderful. It seems as if their condition doesn't let life harden them the way it does to the rest of us. I wish I had that ability.
When I was a teen I baby sat a china doll named Penny. She had downs and she was the most beautiful little girl (china doll) is what she reminded me of .She was always happy no matter what. You couldn't help but smile and fall in love when you met her.
A friend of mine for some years now suffers from Down Syndrome, but don't let it fool you, he has an amazing sense of humour and is a perfect example of a very polite and courteous young man. He currently holds a job at our local supermarket where he helps pack bags and run errands for customers who forget things at the till. I often avoid leaving before having a chat with him, discussing his latest hot gossip and daily tribulations. It makes his day to know he's helped others and loves talking to everyone. The supermarket would be a much different place without him. In a world where everything seems to have becoming so impersonal and fast paced, it makes such a refreshing difference to know people like him can be so honest, polite and friendly.
Great, great job, Karla. Very touching story.
The copyright for this content entitled "Kids with Down Syndrome – You’re Lucky If You Know Them" has been specified by the contributor as:
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