A Practical Guide to Down syndrome and Special Needs Parenting
Sometime around age three when Grace started attending preschool, something shifted in her. She was testing her boundaries. She was saying "no." She was exercising her free will (gasp!). On the one hand, yay! This is developmentally appropriate for a three-year-old. On the other hand, having a child who no longer acquiesces to her mother’s... Continue Reading →
Last week I talked about the Down syndrome behavioral phenotype and what it is (and is not). That cliffhanger brought us here wherein I’ll discuss characteristics of the phenotype in four major areas: cognitive, speech and language, social, and motor skills. Hyperlinked text below will take you to websites with definitions, and often usable... Continue Reading →
Stereotypes about Down syndrome are frustrating, and the one I am often most shocked by is the assumption that all people with DS are the same. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt because before I had Grace, I didn’t know anyone with DS. I believed things then that are so obviously... Continue Reading →
The Extra Life 