Reply to True statement? Downs Syndrome is a spectrum

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[quote=Anonymous]I'm the parent of a child with Down syndrome.  Yes, there is a range.  Our geneticist was able to speak to us in statistics and probabilities, but could not definitively tell us what our kid's IQ or health issues would be.  Of course, that's true for any child, not just children with Ds.

I think what your friend was suggesting is that Down syndrome is not as awful as people make it out to be.  There are a lot of negative stereotypes that just are not true.  When I got the diagnosis, I imagined that I would have to quit my job and nurse a vegetable for the rest of my life.  But in reality, my life is not that much different from parents of typical children, except  that we have a lot more appointments.  No, my kid is not likely to graduate from Harvard or be a rocket scientist, and he will probably always depend on us for support, but he's happy and we're happy, so it could be worse.

That's not to not to say that Down syndrome is all sunshine and rainbows.  I am not happy that my son has Down syndrome, and I am still grieving the diagnosis in my own way.  For some people, the way they process the diagnosis is to get on the Ds positivity train.  There is a lot of "happiness porn" about Down Syndrome out there.  Your friend may feel that she cannot acknowledge the downsides because she is trying to combat the terrible discrimination facing her child. [/quote]

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