Friday, October 31, 2008

Mobile Phone Video

Great mobile phone video from Duffo

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Real Life....

Ok so I have been terrible with updating the blog but hey life is busy (in anyways)!

Ava (or "Ava Bear" as we call her) is now 7 months old! All I can say that she is doing just great. She could do with rockin out a bit of the old "Da Da" speak and a repeat performance of her first ever rollover (or "roly poly") would be welcomed but we aint pushy!

Every day she is more of a little girl and me and the Duffo are just really enjoying life with her. You really havent lived until you go in to pick her up from her cot and she smiles up at you, it is quite literally like Xmas every day in that regard (seriously).

Oh and to that one person (who shall remain nameless) who was very critical of parents being 'like all positive' when their DS kids are babies I pity you. You have to enjoy every moment and we will continue to do so. Anyway she is our daughter and we dont over focus on the DS to be honest and so far thats working out :)

Oh and the photo is off a superb pair of Vans shoes from our great friends Martin and Audrey (who have the cutest daughter Kalia). They are just....so....cool non?

Monday, October 20, 2008

Shout! Text "Shout" to 57502!

Ok so I have been major busy recently and therefore the blog has not been updated much. I intend to do more updates this week!

Anyway Nan P quite rightly pointed out that I should highlight the SHOUT programme! Text "SHOUT" TO 57502. It costs only €2. The Shout Programme" is designed to train and develop adults with Down syndrome to speak for themselves.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

An Interesting Article in Yesterdays Times

This caught my attention in yesterdays Irish Times 07/10/08. That said while it is of interest now I am the proud father of a child with DS my (personal) feelings on testing are somewhat mixed.

Safer Prenatal Blood Test found for Down Syndrome


WASHINGTON – A prenatal blood test can be used to determine if an unborn baby has Down syndrome without the small risk to the foetus posed by invasive testing methods such as amniocentesis, US researchers said yesterday.

Researchers led by Stephen Quake of Stanford University in California created a way to look for the extra chromosomes that cause Down syndrome and similar birth detects in the tiny amounts of foetal DNA that circulate in the mother’s blood.

The test, which requires a small blood sample from the mother, is safer than amniocentesis, in which a needle is inserted into the uterus, and can be done earlier in a pregnancy.

Down syndrome, which causes mental retardation and other problems, is caused when a child has three copies instead of the normal two of chromosome 21. The test also detects other chromosomal conditions such as Edward syndrome, which kills half of babies in the first week of life and Patau syndrome, which kills more than 80 per cent of children in infancy.

Mr Quake’s team demonstrated the accuracy of the new genetic test in a small study involving 18 women. It accurately identified the nine women with a Down syndrome pregnancy and three others with foetuses with different chromosomal disorders, according to the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“It’s the first universal, noninvasive test for Downs syndrome. So this should be the first step in putting an end to invasive testing procedures like amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, Mr Quake said. – (Reuters)

© 2008 The Irish Times