David Perry, Washington Post, 11th June 2015
“Nico will get to participate as an audience member.”
With those words, the teacher explained why my son, a second-grader with Down syndrome, wouldn’t be part of the end of the year performances. These were just little informal plays that emerged from reading groups, groups in which my son was supposed to be included. But the teacher had announced these end-of-the-year events with a flier cheerfully titled, “Come One, Come All.” There were 23 names on the flier, detailing who was in each play on a given day. Nico’s name was conspicuously absent ...
Embracing Wade, 7th June 2015
Sometimes when you start out teaching your kids how to do things, you have no idea whether your approach will work or not. That worry can be amplified when your kid has developmental delay as the fruits of your labour can take a long time to ripen. Trying to balance sticking to a method to provide consistency and ditching something that doesn’t work before I have wasted too much time on it used to drive me crazy but as time passes, I am getting better at knowing what works for us and what doesn’t ...
Mary Evelyn, What Do You Do, Dear? 4th June 2015
It hit me on our first night home. I was sitting in bed, a three-day-old baby in my arms, and the heavy hush of evening all around me, when I felt it. It hit me like being woken up from a dream or like a clock chime at midnight or like a broken spell. It hit me the way truth always does when you’ve been keeping it at arms length. This baby was so easy– and easy was much harder than I expected ...
Life Is Full of Surprises, 4th June 2015
How to talk to kids about Down syndrome
... Along with their more challenging traits, (Ollie and Cameron) have blossomed into clever, spirited, personality-filled little guys who, like all siblings, have their similarities but also many differences ...
How to talk to kids about Down syndrome
Sipping Lemonade, 10th June 2015
... He was all of 3 at the time (barely 3 probably) and in a moment of mommy desperation to implore some sort of empathy in my rambunctious toddler, I said something like: “Honey, Kate has DOWN SYNDROME! That means some things will be more CHALLENGING for her. You have to be extra patient with her!”
Now, in retrospect — whatever my 3-year-old was aggravated with his 1-year-old sister about probably had nothing at all to do with her having Down syndrome. And the totally unaffected, blank expression on his face with my dramatic announcement was proof enough that this meant nothing to him. I could have just as well told him Kate was a trapeze artist from Kalamazoo.
I would say that this is probably not the right way to talk to your child about Down syndrome ...What You Really Told Me When You Said Retard
Looking Up with Down Syndrome, 3rd March 2015
... I love someone with a disability. I know how language can be respectful and uplifting and how it can degrade and demean. I have done my research and made evidence-based arguments. I should be able to discuss this calmly with you. I shouldn’t be afraid to speak up. I know I’m right. But I also know this conversation can be a wedge ...
Learn to Surf Day, 31st May, Bondi Beach
with HAYDENSHAPES
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