Teaching sign language to kids with Down syndrome is common. So I know this opinion may ruffle some feathers. But I believe there that may be a negative side to teaching sign language. Particularly to the extent that it is often used to replace verbal language for younger children with Down syndrome.
A few months back, I read the BEST simple explanation about thyroid function and why checking only TSH and T4 is not enough. Most importantly, why TSH and T4 alone may not be the right way to choose treatment if medication is needed.
Can you imagine a doctor showing up to surgery without knowing how to operate, but still going to the operating room to give it a good effort? That doctor simply operating and hoping for the best? As crazy as this sounds, this sort of medical care is what MANY mothers of children with Down syndrome face daily when taking their children to the pediatrician.
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Did you know there’s a billion dollar industry trying to make you think that you NEED certain toys to put your baby in? So you can be more productive. Work more. Do more. Be back to your “pre-baby” lifestyle. But did you also know that placing your baby inside of toys and not on the floor can actually limit development and delay typical milestones?
During my pregnancy with Mara, I found myself having to educate doctors about they way to deliver certain messages they believed I needed to hear to prepare to have a baby with Down syndrome. “You must know that 40% of babies with Down syndrome are born with a heart defect” was the first warning I was given about the apparently terrifying life that was awaiting for me. Right there and then, with my little baby still in my belly, I decided to change the conversation.
I have a HUGE problem with pediatricians telling moms that it is just OK for a baby to skip crawling. And it makes me crazy when this is said to a mom with a child who has special needs.
When Mara was 6-weeks-old, I was interviewed on Despierta America (the #1 morning show in Spanish in the United States) to talk about the release of my book “The Light After Loss”. Once it was shared on the show’s social media channels, it got so much traction as people kept sharing it on Facebook. Eight months ago, it reached one million views and a few days ago it reached two million views.
Ana Belaval asked me something that I had been waiting to be asked since Mara was born: “How do you deal with people thinking that you had a picture perfect life – you are an author, and influencer, you have a good marriage, a beautiful son – but they now feel sorry that your life is no longer perfect because you had a child with Down syndrome?”
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