"She gives him a sense of what's possible in a world without guile or agendas or booing. He gives her a job. From her, he gets no-strings support, in a profession where nothing is without strings. From him, she gets a load of empty water bottles and a stack of dirty towels. And the precious notion that she matters."
I pulled this quote from the DVD "Down Syndrome The First 18 Months". At the conclusion of the DVD, Dr Allen Crocker sums up the views parents of DS children have shared with him.
"As one grows with the child and as the trip of life is unfolded, the special features become part of a collection of goodness and personalness that are your new child. When you reflect you can identify that that 47th chromosome has indeed made a difference but in the sum this difference has made an extraordinary human and someone for whom you could not have realized or anticipated the happiness and strengths that will be seen and felt. Parents tell me again and again how they have been unexpectedly rewarded and blessed by seeing with new vision. These babies have an unparalleled set of personal features that take us with them, open our eyes and fill our hearts. Perhaps one of the most profound experiences of a special parenthood is coming to realize that your old perceptions were too limited and that there is much waiting to be embraced. That extra chromosome becomes a ticket to some new warmth and features that change lives and change them well."
Allen C. Crocker, MD
Program Director, Institute for Community Inclusion
Children's Hospital, Boston
