Those cute Mongolian eyes

Little Dia

When our journey through autism and therapies started, my education towards other learning disabilities in children also took off. Whether your child is autistic, has cerebral palsy, is MR or was born with down syndrome, mother's of children with special needs develop a certain bonding. All those hours that we spend in the parents waiting area while our children undergo therapies are spent chatting with each other, knowing each others' child better, going into the problems associated with a certain condition and lending a helping hand.

One of my first encounters at Milestones, where Avani was enrolled for an Early Intervention Programme was with Swati. I saw a young mother like me - hassled hair, no time for make up, dressed to walk fast, rushing down stairs at Milestones basement, struggling to control two toddlers with a maid in tow. One child was quickly dropped in the therapy room while the other played around near waiting area.

I was just about a week old into therapies and was obviously intrigued. As soon as I found a bit of breathing space in Swati's busyness, I asked what is she getting her kids here for? It turns out - Vihaan and Saksham are twins. By some stroke of extra ordinary fate, Saksham was born with Down Syndrome and Vihaan was a typical child! That justified the distinct Mongolian eyes and short demeanor of little Saksham. I didn't know much about Down Syndrome and decided to Google as soon as I was home. 

In simple words, Down Syndrome (DS), also known as Trisomy 21, is a condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child develops both mentally and physically. Normally, at the time of conception a baby inherits genetic information from its parents in the form of 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father. In most cases of Down syndrome, a child gets an extra chromosome 21 — for a total of 47 chromosomes instead of 46. It's this extra genetic material that causes the physical features and developmental delays associated with DS.

But aren't there tests during pregnancy to detect precisely this condition! How could Swati miss that? I asked next day and was told that because she was carrying twins, the test didn't show anything. Goodness! What rarity!

Saksham is responsible for opening my eyes to the special features of those cute little kids who look much less than their age and may take an extra year or two to walk and talk but are absolutely adorable. I know more Down Syndrome children now and have had the chance to observe them from close quarters and I have a feeling that DS and autistic kids can be perfect companions to each other.

I recently saw Avani play with Dia (5), another DS kid and a complete anti thesis of Avani. If Avu likes to stay all  by herself, Dia is so social that she can even drag a child like Avani to her world. One's strength is the other one's weakness. Avu is great in learning things quickly, while Dia takes her time, Dia is great in making friends while Avani takes her time. Avani can balance her body on anything, while Dia is still learning the tricks. If Dia and Avani grow up to become friends, am sure they will do great together completing the package! Supporting each other and learning to see life through an alternate perspective.

Yes, it is all about perspective. A child with special needs is no alien. He/she is just like any other kid.Taking their time to reach certain milestones, learning things in a different way and demanding special care. These little angels don't even know that some people make faces at their special features or pass rude comments when they pass by and some even go on to ask their children to stay away!

A child with special needs will still give you their most honest smile and unconditional love if you make only one attempt to accept them.

Accept difference and accept life...please.


PS: All names and pics used in this post are original, with the consent of the people written about.
Read more about DS at http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/down_syndrome.html