Six Things I’ve Learned About Down Syndrome

6 years ago today my 6th child was born. 6 years ago today I learned that she has Down syndrome. Here are 6 things I’ve learned in the 6 years since…

1. When you look into your daughters eyes for the very first time, thinking you’ve “seen those eyes before” and then realize, “Oh my gosh, my little girl has Down syndrome”…. it feels like someone has swung a baseball bat as hard as they can square across your chest.

2. It doesn’t take long to bond with your child with Down syndrome. They will make you smile. They will make you laugh. They will make you cry… just like kids without Down syndrome.

3. Some have said that a diagnosis of Down syndrome is like winning the lottery of disabilities. Why is this? Because in many ways it is a more simple disability. My daughter did not have heart issues (which nearly 50% of kids with DS do), so we took her home and began raising her with the rest of our children. She occasionally gets grumpy (like the rest of us), but for the most part she lights up the room with her laughter and her smile. I’ve been amazed at how easy going she is and how easy life is with her.

4. Kids with Down syndrome will fall and skin their knees. They will get their fingers pinched in doors and drawers. They will bump their heads and get big lumps on them. They will also learn to climb stairs one big step at a time. They will learn to ride their bike with training wheels. They will sing at the top of their lungs. They will cry when things don’t go their way. They will love to jump on the trampoline. And they will steal your heart and never give it back.

5. My little girl doesn’t care that she has Down syndrome. She just wants to be loved like the rest of us. As a matter of fact Down syndrome is more of a label for our family than for our daughter. Our family has Down syndrome and that diagnosis is okay with us. I’ve realized over the last 6 years that I am a better person with Down syndrome than I was before. It has made me more compassionate; more accepting of others; more in love with people and all their complex issues.

6. Nearly 92% of parents, who through pre-natal testing learn that their little baby has Down syndrome, make the choice to abort. That’s 92 out of 100 pregnancies that are terminated! If all these babies were black, or Jewish, or gay, there would be an enormous outcry that we are living in the midst of a genocide against a certain people group, but since the genetic condition is merely Down syndrome, most people will choose to ignore this statistic and move on with their lives.

~ Kent C. Williamson, 29 April 2014

P.S. As I typed this list at a few minutes after 6AM my 6 year old Zoe woke up and started singing in her room… “Like a little bird, He watches over me. Like a little bird, He watches over me. Like a little bird He watches over me. Oh how I am free. Hallelu, Hallelujah! Those whom the Lord sets free, shall be free indeed.”

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This article was originally written and posted as an infographic in 2014 on my daughter Zoe’s 6th birthday. Here it is… click to enlarge.

6 Things About Down Syndrome

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