A Little Nervous

i'm getting a little nervous about going to the national down syndrome congress conference in july. (no reason to wait until the last minute to get nervous!) last weekend tim and i encountered an acquaintance whose adult son has down syndrome, and tim was able to meet him for the first time. he was not very responsive, didn't have much to say, and as we talked about him later, it made me sad. perhaps it was because he was in an unfamiliar setting, it was noisy and he wears hearing aids, etc. i don't know if he's that way all the time, but i've kind of had a sad week. is that what wyatt will be like in 30 years? or will he be like the other young man i met a couple of months ago who i could hardly tell had down syndrome? who spoke so clearly and was so engaging and personable.....

a friend reminded me this morning that our kids have so many advantages in this day and age over those born 30 + years ago. their parents were told to put them in institutions, because they would never walk or talk....surprise....they are walking and talking! and learning, and working, and living a full and meaningful life!

remember, this is my place to be honest.....i know that as wyatt grows it will be more noticeable to us and others that he has down syndrome. at this stage he's still such a baby that i don't notice it that much, except that we work hard to do the things he needs to learn to do..... and not everyone notices it either. last year we went to the florida ds conference and it was difficult to see kids and adults at different stages and levels of functioning. of course wyatt was only 5 1/2 weeks old, and everything was still painfully new to us. but sometimes it is still painful.....