Final post of Down Syndrome Awareness Month

(Re-posted from Facebook)  I’ll end Down Syndrome Awareness Month with a horror story, which is appropriately fitting for Halloween. (Link below) Before I do that, though, I hope that my posts have given you some insight into Wesley and Ds in general.  What the Ds community needs from you is simple: invite our kids to playgroups, to your child’s birthday party, to a museum, to do anything that you’d do with your typical children.  Studies show that interacting with people with Down syndrome creates a more positive outlook on life, so let’s start including them in others’ lives.  If you notice there aren’t any differently-abled kids in a class at school, ask about it.  Encourage your children to sit with a differently-abled child at lunch or play with them at recess.  And model this behavior yourself, because the more you treat my child like a “normal” kid, the more your children will, too.  

Here is the link I promised.  It is not for the faint of heart, but this is how Down syndrome was viewed and in some ways is still viewed, judging by the abortion rate from those receiving a prenatal diagnosis.  Wesley and others with Ds are not mistakes.  Their lives are worth living.  http://downwitdat.blogspot.ca/2012/10/a-brief-history-of-down-syndrome-part-6.html