It's National Down Syndrome Awareness month and if you are a friend of mine or even if you're not please just read this post so you can be aware and maybe bring others aware in the future. This is VERY important to me, obviously because my son has Down syndrome and the more people that are aware, the more accepting people will become-at least that's how I see it.
- There are more than 400,000 people living with Down syndrome in the United States
- Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels
- Down syndrome happens at conception, usually not hereditary and has nothing to do with environmental factors or parents' activities before or during pregnancy
- The incidence of births of children with Down syndrome increases with the age of the mother. But due to higher fertility rates in younger women, 80 percent of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age
- People with Down syndrome have an increased risk for certain medical conditions such as congenital heart defects, respiratory and hearing problems, Alzheimer's disease, childhood leukemia, and thyroid conditions. Many of these conditions are now treatable, so most people with Down syndrome lead healthy lives
- People with Down syndrome attend school, work, participate in decisions that affect them, contribute to society in many wonderful ways, they have different personalities just like other people-they can be happy, sad or mad, hence they're not "always happy"
The term mongoloid is NO LONGER USED and is considered extremely offensive. It is also greatly appreciated if you refer to a person with Down syndrome as the person first and then the condition. So... Bennett has Down syndrome or Bennett is a baby with Down syndrome NOT Bennett is a Down's baby or he is a Down syndrome baby. If you are a mother of a child with Down syndrome you understand this but if not, I just ask that you please refer to it in this way. One other thing- I like to refer to kids that don't have Down syndrome as typical kids NOT normal kids because this then implies that Bennett is not normal, that he is abnormal and well, that just makes me sad to think that.
And last but certainly not least: please, please, please take the word retard or retarded OUT OF YOUR VOCABULARY!! Again, this word is so hurtful and offensive I cannot even tell you how it burns me up. Please discourage your older children that you may hear use it-they have no idea that it can be so hurtful.
If you find yourself in the situation where a friend of yours or a friend of a friend is pregnant and has found out or has been given the chance that her unborn child has Down syndrome please send them to my blog and not so they can become a follower or anything like that but so they can read about how "typical" our life is and then click on the many other blogs I follow about other families that have totally "typical" lives with children with Down syndrome. The abortion rate is in the 90's, percentage wise for babies with Down syndrome but it doesn't have to be that way. Thank you for reading!!-sorry, that wasn't very short was it?
Great post. You hit all the big ones that get me, too. Thank you for taking the time to educate people on what not to say, what's preferred, and that our lives are really quite "typical".
ReplyDeleteWell said!! I didn't realize the abortion rate for babies that have Down's Syndrome is in the 90th percentile. That breaks my heart. Your Bennett is absolutely precious. And your life seems as typical as mine. Awesome post!!
ReplyDeleteDo you care if I steal some of this for my Blog? You said everything so well I feel like I need to cut and paste some of the bullets.
ReplyDeleteThank you Adrienne as always a beautiful post
ReplyDeleteGreat post! As a mother of a beautiful sweet and perfectly made son that has Cerebral Palsy I can relate to most of your statements.
ReplyDeletewell said. i have a son with down syndrome and i love him more than anything. thank you for the beautiful words.
ReplyDeleteThat a great post. Thanks for taking the time to put all that together. What a great post.
ReplyDeleteWell said! I was a high school special education (LIFE) teacher before the birth of my daughter in Feb. I always make people feel bad for using the word retarded.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for teaching me something. I always told people that all my students were normal teenagers with normal teenager issues (meaning typical). Thank you for showing me the difference between normal and typical from a mommies perspective.
GREAT post, not really long as everything you said needed to be said!
ReplyDeleteAmen girl! I need to link you to my blog...so well stated!! Have missed you, been out of town, need to catch up on posts!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful, thoughtful post, Adrienne. It is so sad about how so many people even in this day and time are ill-informed (is that a word?) about Down's syndrome.
ReplyDeleteIt sickens me that 90% of these babies are aborted. I know if the parent doesn't feel like they're up to the challenge, it is really hard (but not impossible) to find an adoptive family. But I do NOT condone abortion under ANY circumstances. I don't understand, though, why people adopt children from other countries, but not precious children with Ds right here. They're not always happy, like you said, but most of them are so sweet and generally the most loving people on the planet. This was a great post. I hope it opens a lot of eyes and hearts. =)
ReplyDeleteAdrienne- That was so perfect. I plagiarized it for my own blog- I hope you and Bennett will forgive me!
ReplyDeleteAdrienne - I just stumbled across your blog and love it! This specific post was well said. Thanks for sharing your family with us, especially adorable little Bennett.
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