On the day we got confirmation that Owen did indeed have Down Syndrome we cried alot and then we started to laugh a little and say consoling things like well....
"he'll never be a drug dealer" and "he'll never rob a bank"
And few days later after making those comments we were told about a young woman, (who lives just a few blocks from us) who has Down Syndrome and who holds a drivers licence driving herself around town, to her work and to her table tennis and swim clubs. We were thrilled just to hope that this may be possible for Owen. But then to our (mock) horror we realised
"he may not rob the bank, but he might drive the get away car!!"
LOL...I hate to say it but if Russell was the driver of the get away car it would be a very proud moment for me :)
ReplyDeleteI love this!! that has actually been a HUGE thing for me! I even made it a goal on her IEP goals...to drive a car one day! I really want her to be self reliant...I was told the same thing that Maddie will never be a drug dealer...but then I read about a person born with Down Syndrome that had a substance problem...I was relieved! not sure why! funny what stigmas are out there about our kiddos...I am not sure any of us knows what our futures hold! but we do know it will be a GREAT journey!! smiles
ReplyDeleteI believe what you're doing is called "prompt" therapy! We just started this with Bennett when he has his fits, to encourage him to use his words or signs rather than just cry and get so mad. Thanks for your comment and I read your post about "coming out of the woods" and can really relate. I think for me a lot of it is my dad's health but definitely Bennett having DS has caught up to me and the stress is really starting to get to me. Thanks again for your words of encouragement!
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