|
Post by kellyds on Nov 28, 2005 22:23:31 GMT -5
Somebody approached ME today! I was downtown with Joshua and a lady came scurrying over, cooing, "Just look at this special little man!" She told me she had three adopted sons, two with DS (and one with autism). She was very positive, saying they are almost grown now and the BEST part of her life. NICE, NICE lady! ;D
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Nov 27, 2005 7:38:19 GMT -5
There's a man who bags groceries at our grocery store who has Down syndrome. Before we had Joshua, my husband and I often commented to each other about how nice he is and how "functional" and "Boy, if you had a child with Down syndrome, wouldn't you be proud if he grew up to be like Mark?". Now that we have Joshua, I have of course felt drawn to Mark. A few weeks ago, he took my groceries out to my van for me. I remembered reading an article about him in the newspaper a couple of years ago about his involvement in martial arts, so I told him I remembered the article and asked if he was still doing martial arts and we chatted a bit. Then I blurted out, "I've been thinking about that article quite a bit lately, because it said you have Down syndrome and my son, Joshua here, has Down syndrome, too." He stopped what he was doing and RUSHED around the shopping cart, petting Joshua's head and saying, "Aw! He's a CUTE little guy!" Now every time we go in there, Mark comes over saying he wants to see his "little friend" and makes a big fuss over Joshua, patting him or letting Joshua hold onto his finger. The other day, he saw me struggling to lift my three-year-old into the child seat while also holding Joshua and he lifted her in for me. He seems very bright and has a good sense of how much "fuss" to make without being inappropriate. My children love to go into that store now. Mark is their hero! Sorry this was so long but . . . I'm pretty shy and I'm glad I said something to Mark. Our family has a new "friend" because of it.
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Nov 12, 2005 13:14:57 GMT -5
That's great news about your brother. I had sort of rejected the idea of supplements right away, thinking it's a scam. I'll take another look at them based on what you've written. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try.
I forget how old your little brother is? My Joshua is nine months old today, and he isn't sitting alone yet. I bought a Bumbo seat for him, but it hasn't yet arrived.
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Nov 4, 2005 13:06:16 GMT -5
I've home schooled all of our kids from the beginning, and Joshua will be home schooled, too. My "advanced" students have excelled with the one-on-one attention and my daughter, who struggles a little, has really benefitted from the individualized tutoring that I can provide for her. I'm already working with Joshua on a lot of things, and I'm proud of him for learning to play pat-a-cake all by himself recently. ;D
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Oct 18, 2005 11:56:08 GMT -5
Do you know Jonie Eareckson Tada? She's the lady who became a quadriplegic as a teenager and is now active in all sorts of Christian ministries. (I think she must be in her forties or fifties now.) Anyway, she has a radio show, and she interviewed a girl with Down syndrome for National Down Syndrome Month. You can listen to the interview online. The young lady is quite articulate! :-) www.joniandfriends.org/outreach/radio/media/index.asp
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Oct 16, 2005 17:22:19 GMT -5
I don't usually have any prenatal testing done, but the doctor had to do an ultrasound for another reason and did a nuchal fold screening at the same time. Joshua passed the test, yet he was born with Down syndrome. So much for tests. ;D If I get pregnant again, we still won't bother with those kinds of tests.
Congratulations!
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Oct 12, 2005 0:16:53 GMT -5
That's the verse we put on Joshua's birth announcement! We chose a different translation, but it's the same verse. If you scroll about 2/3 of the way down, you'll see it in blue print. That verse just POPPED into my head as soon as Joshua was born and the doctor mentioned that he looked like he had Down syndrome. www.babiesonline.com/babies/d/davenkelly/
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 30, 2005 10:14:24 GMT -5
The truth is, parenting any child includes "burdens". No one has children to make their life easier! ;D I have found that the blessings of being a parent FAR outweigh the burdens. I've found this true with Joshua, too, even though he has DS. There are some things about him that have actually been EASIER than with my other kids. For instance, he has always slept through the night. I'm very careful not to give the impression that ANY of my children are instrinsically burdensome .
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 29, 2005 20:13:37 GMT -5
Our kids are home schooled. I'm using Starfall to teach our three-year-old to read. She's learned all of the basic letter sounds by playing the games. It's a great site! ;D
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 27, 2005 21:08:57 GMT -5
I have home schooled all our children from the start. Math U See is OUR math program of choice! You (the parent) watch a segment on a DVD that shows YOU how to teach that lesson. Then, you teach it to your child. The manipulatives are excellent.
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 24, 2005 16:10:14 GMT -5
Thanks for all of the insight. All of my children have played with their hands occasionally, for a week or so. Joshua's fascination with his hand goes far beyond that. I appreciate everyone's replies. I'm feeling encouraged.
He does like to play with toys. He plays with rattles, mouths everything, and pats faces, etc. It just freaks me out when he'll be happily playing with a toy and suddenly STOP, as if distracted by his own hand, and start waving it in front of his face. I do redirect when he does this.
I think I'll let him do the hand-waving thing when I put him down to sleep. I know it calms him to do that, and it seems an appropriate way for him to lull himself to sleep. If he does it at other times, I'll coax him to play something else.
Thanks again! ;D
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 24, 2005 14:15:15 GMT -5
Joshua is seven months old now. Since he was probably less than two months old, he has had a habit of waving his hand in front of his eyes and watching it. At first, we thought it was just the usual "baby finds his hands" thing, but it's more than that. He does it when he's tired, hungry, stressed, etc., so I think it's a self-calming or self-stim kind of thing.
I'm wondering if it's something I should discourage. I'm also wondering if it could be indicative of autism. He is very receptive to people, and smiles largely if you smile at him or even if you just make eye contact with him. Do babies who are autistic have that social receptiveness initially?
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 24, 2005 14:10:15 GMT -5
I don't care how "nice" she was . . . she killed her child. There are always alternatives. The fact that everyone is so understanding is really, really sad and underlines the mindset that people with DS are less valuable.
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 23, 2005 6:18:36 GMT -5
These were created for typical kids, but they are being sold in special needs catalogs. There's a link to some pics of Joshua using it below. If I ever have another baby, even without special needs, I'll get one of these. Here's a link to the feeder: www.babysafefeeder.com/It's so neat for Joshua to be able to feed himself a little. He has no pincer grip yet, and it doesn't look like he will have any teeth for a long time. He has a lot of fun with this. I think he finds the independence gratifying! In the pictures, there's a slice of peach inside. The first one is a little blurry, because, whenever you first hand something to him, he starts shaking it vigorously to see if it rattles. He's seven months old already! share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaMmjJk3ctWnY
|
|
|
Post by kellyds on Sept 23, 2005 6:12:46 GMT -5
Here's part of the problem, I'm sure: Josef plays video games 'round the clock alone in his room.
|
|