None of us parents want our kids with special needs to have a life lived small. But it can happen quickly, can’t it? Sometimes on our special needs journey, I struggle with what’s known as chronic sorrow, a reoccurring swell of grief some parents experience over certain aspects of life with disability. For me, it presents like a nostalgia for a different life. A longing for a world I control and direct. But these thoughts cheapen the gracious lives gifted to us by God.
A lot of us tend to follow Christ to get something out of it. We follow Jesus the life coach or Jesus the marriage counselor, or Jesus the CEO. But when God calls us to follow him, it’s not for our own glory but for his. But we are asked to follow, not lead, and to be fine with wherever Jesus takes us, as long as it’s with him.
I am a bit farther down your new path. Give yourself time to fall in love with your son, and to get used to Down syndrome. Breathe in his baby smell. Watch how his brother kisses the top of his head, how your husband gently puts him down to sleep, how your baby locks eyes with you when he eats. The weight of the world is in those eyes.
Today, you don’t have to love Down syndrome. Just love your son.
Teachers can make or break the experience for the child, for the family, for the classroom, and for the whole school, especially when it comes to children with Down syndrome.
So, here’s my list of 10 things teachers should know about Down syndrome …