4)
Children with Down syndrome always resemble their parents. They are not freaks
or misshapen or deformed. My son looks exactly like his grandfather. The
resemblance is striking!5) The extra chromosome affects every child in a different way. A good number of children born with Down syndrome have minor heart defects, which are usually surgically corrected at about the 6 month age. Sometimes it will cause significant health issues, like respiratory problems, major heart defects, and gastrointestinal perforations. That is the outside 1%. Reece was blessed to not have ANY health complications! Every child with Down syndrome has a different learning capacity, a different personality, a different soul, just as every typical child has!
6) When you get your new child home, he/she will be able to be added to your family health insurance without problem. Adoptions are considered births, and do not count as "pre-existing medical conditions". She/he will also most likely be eligible for Medicaid, which would cover all of your co-pays, prescriptions, doctor visits, surgeries, ANYTHING. We have never paid a single penny for Reece, not ever.
7) Down syndrome is synonymous with THERAPY! As an infant, these children (and others with disabilities), receive nearly free early intervention services. First PT, then PT and OT, then they added speech. At the age of 3, they go to our public schools in special classes (which by the way, I wish every school teacher was trained this way...my typical son is going to get GYPPED). The bus comes and picks Reece up every morning at our door. He loves his drivers, he loves his teachers, and he is the star everywhere he goes. He/she will have an IEP (individualized education plan) which documents their strengths and weaknesses, and determines goals for the year and how they plan to achieve those goals. IEP's include the parents as well!! Personally, I think EVERY child should have an IEP....my own little Owen (pictured at right) will have his own strengths and weaknesses, even without Down syndrome.
8) People are not going to point and stare at your child who has Down syndrome. Birth parents always struggle with that fear.
People WILL come talk
to you and love on your child because they themselves have known someone who
has Down syndrome. Everyone who has ever been exposed to Down syndrome is a
changed person in the most positive of ways. These children and adults are
truly inspirational. They are messengers from Heaven, I truly believe that.
You will be proud as a peacock to have a child with Down syndrome. You are
joining an incredible FAMILY, and your position as the parent of a child with
Down syndromes is a highly coveted one! Did you know that there is a list of 200
families in the US WAITING for domestic Down syndrome adoptions? That is what led me to
start Reece's Rainbow...to raise awareness of the great need abroad, and how
many children are waiting for families.9) One feature that impacts all children with Down syndrome is low muscle tone. It causes them to take longer doing things like sitting up, rolling over, crawling, walking, climbing, hanging. But they always get it, it just takes longer to build up their strength. And my God, how many kids do you see in the Special Olympics? That is an amazing feat, even for "normal" people! Low muscle tone also accounts for that common "tongue thrust". Sometimes, early in life (birth to 18 months), it can cause kids to have a little trouble chewing or swallowing. This is almost always overcome, and your child will go on to have a healthy appetite!
10) Other children in your family will thrive with a new sibling with Down syndrome in their lives. Growing up, you don't need to tell them anything more than "he/she needs a little extra help", because that is the truth. Down syndrome will be what they know the rest of their lives. They will be better people for having a sibling like this in their lives, they will be more sensitive to others with disabilities, and they will grow up to be passionate, service-minded adults. By choosing to adopt a child with Down syndrome (or any other disability), you set an incredible example of love, faith, and compassion for others in need. Don't think for one second that this "lesson" won't filter down to your other children. You serve the Lord and you share the teachings of Jesus in the gift of life you give to any adopted child.
11) Children with Down syndrome definitely benefit from having siblings to learn from too. Reece was my first child, so he didn't have any examples. Now that Owen is 2, those two are like twin tornados. They both learn so much from each other.
