Caroline Richardson, from Harrington Park, with her son Joshy, 8, who has Down syndrome. She would like to educate people about the condition. Picture: Robert pozo Source: News Corp Australia
1: Every chromosome has two chromosomes. Trisomy 21: on every 21st chromosome it has a third chromosome.
2: No two people with Down syndrome are the same. They have their own personalities.
3. They are not always happy all the time. They can get very sad, angry and frustrated, just like you and I
4. It is very common for people with down syndrome to have a lot of medical conditions and problems. But not all. Joshy is one of the few who don’t have a heart condition, kidney problems or major bowel problems.
5. Developmentally people with Downs can be mild, mild to moderate, moderate to severe. Severe and so on. Joshy is severe. He wouldn’t be able to cope in a unit in a main stream school so he is in a special school.
6. People with Down syndrome can have dual diagnosis. As well as have Down syndrome, they can also have autism, defiance disorders, ADD, ADHD. The list can go on.
7. People with Down syndrome can work in jobs the same as anyone else. Some can drive cars.
8. When Joshy was born he wasn’t diagnosed until he was three weeks old. The doctors at the hospital weren’t 100 per cent sure. And we new nothing until he was three weeks old either. 9. When they are looking for signs of Down syndrome in a baby. They look for certain features as well as waiting for the blood test results. Things like a sandal toe, cinean crease in the hand, that’s the line that goes through the middle of your hand. Most people’s have a break in theirs but most people with down syndrome it goes straight across. Almond shaped eyes that slant up. A flat bridge across the nose. Ears that sit below the eye line. A large wide tongue and low muscle tone. But it doesn’t mean our child will have all of these things.
10. Josh is a bit too lazy. He needs a good push sometimes to do things. If he can find a way around something to get out of it he will.
11. About once a year sometimes twice a year, Joshy can’t walk. It’s usually in flu season because he gets a flu virus in his muscles and it hurts to much to stand or walk. This has been happening for the last three years now.
12. Joshy has an amazing bond with animals. Especially our friend’s dog. It is something amazing to watch the love he has for animals and what they let him do to them
13. Josh is very little for his age. He’s eight years old but in a size 6 clothes. It takes nearly two years to go into the next size up.
14. Joshy was six months old when he first rolled over onto his tummy. One year and nine months when he started crawling and two years and nine months old when he started walking. It may take a bit longer but our children can do things, with a lot more hard work and determination but they get their.
15. Joshy can sign the song Roar from Katie Perry.
16. He has only dropped the F bomb once in his eight years and all I could do was laugh. And praise him for saying a new word so clearly lol
17. If you want to win him over he loves Vegemite sandwiches and Vegemite on toast. We can have many days when that’s all he will eat.
18. The majority of people with down syndrome are very restless sleepers. Every night a few times a night I have to pick him up from down the end of the bed and put him back on his pillow.
19. People with Down syndrome take longer to process things. So when you ask Joshy something or ask him to do something you have a 30 second gap of him processing what you have asked, to you getting a response.
20. If I never had Joshy I would never have had the chance to have the most beautiful friends in my life. Friends that I met because of him and friends that were already their but Joshy made that bond stronger.
21. Perfection.
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