More Alike Than Different

October is National Down Syndrome Awareness month and for the past 3 years we have held a garage sale to raise money and awareness in our community.  We didn't do it this year but I like the idea of raising awareness and educating the general public and anyone that my boy and others might come in contact with, about people with Down syndrome.  I recall at one of my garage sales a lady made the commit that when she was younger people with Down syndrome were institutionalized and she didn't realize that even today they were capable of doing so much.  Remarks like these make me realize that yes we have come a long way but at the same time it makes me understand that educating and raising awareness is going to be an ongoing job for our family.  The slogan for the National Down Syndrome Congress is "More Alike Than Different" Find it here and that is so true.  My boy has feelings just like other kids.  His feelings get hurt if his sister shuts her door and doesn't want to play anymore.  He loves to shoot baskets and kick the soccer ball and he has a sense of humor.  So yes More Alike Than Different. 

School is a big place for educating his peers and I love that inclusion is alive and kicking in our general education system.  I love it when we go to the park and a child comes up and says that my boy is in her class and she says hi and trys to play with him.  This is because he is in her class and not separated from the other kids.  He loves climbing up the slide just like the little boy before him did and then both of them sliding down giggling all the way.  My boy is learning the same things in school that all the other kids are learning.  He knows his numbers and colors, shapes and recognizes some words.  He knows when someone is being nice to him and wants to play, because you don't have to have words to show kindness and interest in playing. 

Sometimes I forget that a lot of people really don't know what Down syndrome is.  My favorite one is when a neighbor asked if I drank during my pregnancy and that is why my boy has Down syndrome.  I can only imagine what she thought of me before she finally had the nerve to ask me.  Another common mistake is when someone thinks that he is suffering from Down syndrome.  It is not a disease and he is not in pain. Down syndrome is a genetic disorder where he has 47 chromosomes instead of 46.  This extra chromosome shows itself in different ways and some of those ways are in his appearance, speech and his cognitive powers.  His cognitive powers gives him this sixth sense almost that he can tell you have a kind heart just by being in your presence.  He knows and he will let you know he knows with a hug.  He does not hand these out to just anyone.  He has an intellectual disability but all this means to us is that he learns new things at his own pace. 

I am not even scratching the surface of what you need to understand about my boy.  I just want you to take from this post that I am ok when you ask me questions otherwise you might think I am a drunk.  I am not offended by questions because I do not expect others to know all about Down syndrome.  I knew nothing before my boy was born.  You can also go to NDSS to find out more.  I especially like it when kids ask questions and I have learned I like to help them see that he isn't doing anything different than them.  I might ask them a question and relate what my boy is doing to what they said they like to do.  The key here is More Alike Than Different.  I just give them a different perspective on things.  The first time I encountered some kids laughing and pointing at my boy we were renting some movies and I had feelings of anger and hurt.  I had to put those aside for later and I quickly addressed the kids with a hello and stated that my boy was looking for a certain movie and asked them if they were doing the same.  They appeared shocked and quickly stated yes and then I told my boy to say hi (hoping that he would) and then they said hi and quickly disappeared.  At the moment I had no idea what I was saying or doing all I wanted to do is let them know I saw what was going on and I didn't know how to do this other than be nice.  They are kids and they made me cry.  Later that is.   So yes let's educate everyone and include people with Down syndrome because we can.   You will see ignorance in the ones poking fun and laughing and those are the ones we need to reach out to.   So please remember this month and every month after that people with Down syndrome are More Alike Than Different.