Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Breaking News - You have Down Syndrome / Down Syndrome Center


I try not to post unless I have something I think is of significance. Nothing has struck me of late worth posting until two things came along at once this week.

We were advised (I won't say by who but it was a professional!) that it is a good idea to start telling your child (in our case Ava) that she has Down Syndrome? This may seem a blindingly obvious thing to most people but not us? We kind of thought to date that it is all about fitting in and inclusion and we certainly never mention it explicitly. The reason however for discussing this with your child from an early age is that so when it does come up they are prepared / aware and not taken aback / upset. Other children / teachers may mention it and they need to be aware. This seems sound advice so we plan to do it but brand new information for us?

Secondly as per previous posts we have been involved with Down Syndrome Center who provide the excellent Liaison Nurse service and have a great website / facebook page with fab articles. I see from their site that Sheila Campbell is no longer CEO. Sorry to see Sheila go and hope both herself and DSC continue to do great work!

2 comments:

Nan P. said...

Sorry to hear about Sheila...

About telling your child very young, it makes sense I suppose, but I feel it raises more questions than it answers. The first one that comes to my mind is "how young?"

BTW, beautiful photo!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mate, your daughter (Ava) is absolutely adorable. I have 3 baby boys (under 3), and i just wanted to say - thanks for sharing your experience.

I have no idea when you should tell Ava about her having Down Syndrome. All i do know is that if you Love her more than anything else on this planet (which clearly you do) - then you will know when is the right time.

She is absolutely adorable. Keep being the best Dad you can be!

Cheers

John