A Little Extra - Down syndrome awareness

10/24/12



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A little extra






Barbara Curtis

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

My son Jonathan has a little extra. A little extra enthusiasm,
a little extra innocence, a little extra charm. Oh, and did I mention
an extra chromosome? The one on the 21st pair that inspires so much fear
in parents-to-be.

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I suppose at one time I was fearful about Down syndrome. But
in 1992 when they placed the blue-blanketed bundle in my arms and I
could see he looked -- well, just a little different -- I actually felt a
sense of awe. Here will be a challenge -- so many things to learn.

In this culture, for a parent without one to see something
positive in a child with Down syndrome requires a paradigm shift, I
know. But if my counterculture years taught me anything, it was to
question prevailing attitudes. I'd really never liked the dread
surrounding Down syndrome, clouding the horizon for
still-waiting-for-test-results expectant parents.

In years since, I've met many parents whose prenatal diagnosis
was accompanied by pressure to terminate the pregnancy and "try again."
Professionals are quick to point out the burdens of having a child with
trisomy 21 -- possible medical problems, heavier emotional demands, a
child who is "less than."

Which makes it hardly surprising that 90 percent of prenatal diagnoses today end in abortion.

Parents who search to learn more -- as well as those surprised
with a postnatal diagnosis -- must be surprised by the hope they find
when they connect with the real professionals: parents of kids with Down
syndrome. For no matter how devastated they may have been to receive
the news, parents almost invariably come to treasure the gift that
they've received, as in Emily Kingsley's famous essay "Welcome to Holland": So you planned to go to Italy and landed in unexpected
territory. At first you're disappointed. Then you notice the windmills
and the tulips -- beauty you never expected to find. You discover it's
not a bad place after all.

My own son Jonny is a hip and clever guy with a gift for
acting, dancing, humor and making friends. At home or school he is the
first to offer help, to comfort someone who's down and to laugh
uproariously at the punch lines.

For 20 years he's taught me -- and others around him with
hearts willing to learn -- how much more there is to life than
intelligence, beauty and "perfection."

Read more at Catholic Herald