A favorite saying of NLP practitioners comes from the ancient wisdom of the Hawaiian Kahuna’s, “Energy flows were attention goes.” What if we focused our energy on the positive aspects of children with Down syndrome? What would happen? Our attention would be diverted to the good these children do. So often we focus on the bad and forget the good things that go with it. We are the ones who are lucky.” (Meridian Magazine, Friday October 12, 2007) If anything, our family’s pleasure in his company is heightened by his diagnosis, thanks to the many ways his presence has opened our minds and hearts. The fact that he has Down syndrome does not in any way lessen the delight of his childhood. He’s taking his first steps and speaking his first words. And after all, until my son Thomas was born - and for several months afterward - I shared her sentiment: We’re lucky if we never have to deal with Down syndrome. Surely she wasn’t intending to be insensitive. I don’t remember what I said in reply, but I took care to keep my voice friendly. It took me a few long seconds to recover from that remark. “Do you have any friends or family members with Down syndrome?” I asked. She peered at me and the stack of books at my elbow with curiosity. “I was signing copies of Gifts at a bookstore event last June when a tall, brunette middle-aged woman approached the table. In an article she wrote for Meridian Magazine she passes us this story. Kathryn Lynard Soper wrote a beautiful book titled, Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives(Woodbine House, 2007). Medical professionals do a great job educating parents about what might go wrong if they bring a child with Down syndrome into their family, but do they give any information on what might go right? Statistics show that 90% of those women whose unborn babies are diagnosed with Down syndrome will choose to terminate their pregnancy. Will be offered first-trimester prenatal testing for Down syndrome in 2008.
If the mother is 36 the chance is 1 in 300. The chance of having a baby with Down syndrome increases with the age of the mother. Named after physician John Langdon Down who was the first to identify it, Down syndrome occurs randomly and naturally in one of every 800 births of every race and economic group. Down syndrome, also called Trisomy 21 because of an extra 21 st chromosome, causes developmental delays and particular characteristics such as short stature, flattened face, and almond-shaped eyes. As a special education teacher I almost always have a delightful student with Down syndrome in my classroom.
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