Wednesday Video - Down Syndrome in the 21st century

When I look at AngelicA now and I think back to the time she was born, I feel that the doctors at the hospital held out absolutely no hope for us. I can still remember the conversation with the pediatrician. He told us that our baby would never be independant, that she would have to go to a special school and went on and on about what she wouldn't do. I remember staring at the little cuddly toy wound around his stethoscope and thinking - does he have anything nice to say? He was pessimistic about what the future would be. At best he was too, too pragmatic basing all his pragmatism on his text book knowledge of what Down Syndrome is. I'm not really angry or anything but I really wish doctors knew the facts...that today a child born with Down Syndrome can have a full life, just like everyone else. And this clip proves it...



Thanks for reading,
JD

Wednesday Video - The Push

My little big girl Ellie, sweet as she is, can be very clingy sometimes. Whenever we go to some new place, she climbs on to my lap and wraps her arms around me. At times, she clings to me even at home, almost all through the day. I tried talking to her, explaining to her, even being a little stern but nothing worked for too long.

One evening as were driving back from some place, she decided she wanted to sit on my lap again. It was dark and she must've been tired, so she whined and whined. All my attempts to reason with her were met with more whining. Then daddy told her a story about the mommy birds and the baby birds, and how the mommy birds push the baby birds out of the nest not because they don't love them but because mommy bird knows that the baby birds need to become independent and learn to fly. The whining stopped as Ellie listened to the story intently. And we had a peaceful ride home after that.

As luck would have it, I found this lovely clip in my mailbox today and I played it for her. I think she finally understood...



Thanks for stopping by,
JD