'You must be very pleased with him.' This from the director of an integrated education programme from University of Toronto, whom we met the other day when she and her colleagues were in Kobe on a research visit at Shinwa Women's University. Ayumi takes Justin over to this DS group about once a month, one of the many regular visits his condition requires (or allows, depending on the particular appointment). With some experience of Down Syndrome children, she was impressed—as nearly everyone is—at how engaged and communicative Justin has become at 17 months.
We are, of course, delighted too that he is doing so well, though we can claim no credit for this; nor blame, when things aren't always as they should be. Recently, one of our friends reported on FB that their son, born a month after Justin, had started to produce two-word utterances; meantime, Justin has multipurpose "ba" and we are still waiting for him to stand unsupported. A reminder, as if we needed it, that "normal" and "usual" are entirely different notions. When I consider it, I'll settle for "well", but usually I don't even think about Down Syndrome: things are just as they are...mostly brilliant!
A reminder of how far we've come.
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