He is our grandson.

We have one week to go till our Baby J is due to be born! I am excited. I am scared. And then I am excited again. As we near this date, I continue to read and connect with other people who share similar experiences. This morning I read an incredibly moving blog. Those words prompted these words:

We have a grandson.
He has Down syndrome.
He is not Down syndrome.
He is our grandson.

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What's It Like?

"What's it like to have a grandchild with Down syndrome?" "Will he be able to go to 'regular' school?" "Will he ever talk?" "Does he know who you are?" And the first comment many people say when they first hear of Wes's diagnosis: "Oh. I"m sorry." These are all perfectly legitimate questions and comments that I've heard over the past two years. I take all of them as a way that people show they are interested and caring. But I'd like to clarify and explain some things about our little guy. First and foremost, the diagnosis of Down syndrome is not a curse or something to be sorry about. Honest. Wes has developmental delays - not developmental lack of abilities. There is a big difference. And just so you know...he is very, very smart. We were just there over the holidays and his communication skills blew me away. No, he's not talking audibly yet at two years four months. But he is commu...

Inspiration and Inclusion

This is going to be a long post, so fair warning. In the past 24 hours two seemingly unrelated events came together for me to experience a “big enlightenment.” In fact, it was so big I had to share. It began in a meeting for a college organization that I have facilitated for the past two years - a wonderful group of master teachers who share strategies for engaging students in the learning process. We watched a TEDx talk by professor John Boyer from Virginia Tech. (If you can find 14.49 minutes in your busy day I strongly recommend you watch.) His delivery style made me uncomfortable. His words inspired me. The second event happened last night. My daughter shared some more pictures of Wes. I’m sharing one of those here. This set of pictures affected me like none before. And that’s when I had the big enlightenment. Bear with me please. John Boyer speaks of inspiration and how we have lost that ingredient of education through the constant focus on standardization of learning objectives...

I Cried

I cried twice today. I've written lots about what an amazing, beautiful child Wes is. I haven't written about some of the frustrations associated with Down syndrome. That's the first reason I cried. Let me back up. I've been taking care of Wes while his parents had to be away. It is exhausting to care for a toddler at my age, but it is also my greatest joy. So one of my tasks was to take Wes to his toddler music class. The thought of this was already causing me some anxiety. Wes hasn't had a lot of experience with other children except through these classes and trips to the library and park. He doesn't have siblings yet. And he tends to love very "exuberantly," a trait that is not always appreciated when it causes another child to cry. During a 45-minute class made up of about 12 toddlers, believe me when I say, there were ample opportunities for loving exuberantly. In plain talk...Wes made three children cry today....

Loving Baby J

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