May 21 2008
What does the future hold?
When Tim was diagnosed at 2 1/2 years old with mosaic Down syndrome, I, like most parents, wanted to know what this meant for his future. The geneticist who delivered the news of his diagnosis to me unfortunately painted a very grim picture for me. This counselor had been practicing for a number of years, and the information she had was extremely outdated.
She told me that he would never read, he would never write and would require extreme care that would be a great burden on me and my family. Her final suggestion to me was to put him in an institution and forget I ever had him.
He was 2 1/2 years old!!!!! How on earth could I forget I ever had him???
I told her that he would do all these things and even more! She shook her head in disbelief and it was clear she thought I was wrong.
I am glad to say that I didn’t believe her grim picture. I taught Tim everything I possibly could and he was like a sponge - soaking up information as much as possible.
At 3 yrs old, he could read some words and these were not just memorized. He knew what he was reading.
At 4 yrs old, he watched carefully as I worked with multiplication flash cards with his older brother Arron. And, soon, he was whispering the answers in his brother’s ear!
In first grade, Tim began multiplying his addition worksheets because he was tired of adding and wanted something new to do! This was completely his own doing and it took me a while to figure out why he was failing all of his addition worksheets!
In sixth grade Tim began writing short stories that were so well written that we first believed he was copying them from a book! Tim still loves to write and if he could stay focused long enough to finish a book, we would all be millionaires and able to retire!
In seventh grade Tim exceeded the state standards in reading. The school said they didn’t know what else to do with him because he was already reading above college level!
In Tim’s senior year in High School, he had goofed around and failed a project in his computer graphics class. Yes! Computer Graphics!!! So, to cover up his mistake (or so he thought) he hacked into the school district’s computer system and changed his grade! (I had to laugh at that one… )
Sixteen years after Tim’s diagnosis, I spoke with this same geneticist again. She asked me how he was doing and when I told her all the things Tim had accomplished she said there was no way that he could have mosaic Down syndrome and accomplish all of these things! She suggested we retest him. I informed her that he had recently had a test when he participated in our research program. Yes…. he does have mosaic Down syndrome and YES! he HAS accomplished many things!
I think about all the ‘what ifs’…
What if I would have listened to that grim prognosis?
What if I hadn’t taught him things when he was younger?
What if I had just accepted that he would not accomplish anything and hadn’t worked with him?
What if I didn’t read to him?
What if….. I sent him away to an institution and forgot I ever had him?
The Only Handicap a Person Has Are the People Around Them! TM
Treat others as what they ought to be and they will become what they are capable of being! TM
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