Fun Article about Down Syndrome!!!

Here is Catie with our cute Dad!

So I recently came across this article about Down Sydrome.  "If People with Down Syndrome Ruled the World"  If you know someone with Down Syndrome you should seriously take the time to read it.  A lot of the things I found to be very very accurate.  There were a few things that I could see as being pretty close but I hadn't observed them quite as much.  Here are some of my favorites...I will tell you which ones I just love -most have to do with Catie (of course) but I have experienced a lot of these with some students as well.

1. Refreshingly Honest and Genuine- oh yes.....Watch out....if Catie wants your man, she'll let you know it!  If she thinks someone has a wierd name you won't hear the end of it.  Gotta Love it!

2. Having special rooms for people to self talk- Oh I love this, there is no shame in it, sometimes I will come into Catie's room and ask her who she is talking to and she will say "myself" almost like uh well who do ya think?  Its so cute.  Confession-my husband has caught me a few times talking to myself in front of the mirror....big deal, its just more of Catie thats in me!

3.The words hurry and fast would not be uttered- This is so true, sometimes I think we all forget that everyone does things at different paces...I mean would we say hurry up if our boss or one of our co-workers was taking a little longer to get something done....probably not.  This I think is good perspective to keep in mind.  I think my experiences especially in teaching have just taught me that there doesn't need to be a rush.

4.News-  100% accurate, weather would be the only necessary news-Catie always checks the weather.  Mostly to see if its going to Thunder-if it won't you can expect a smile on that face for the rest of the day!

5. Behaviors-I have always tried to use and explain this perspective to parents all the time.  If any of us were followed around and watched as closely as some of our students with special needs we would all have a million "incident reports" or "issues" that people needed to document.

6. "You probably would not hear a great deal about exercise, but you may hear a phrase like, “Dancing tonight ... absolutely.”"- This quote is right on. Watch out, Catie has some very "saucy moves"- although I might add to this, other forms of exercise you might see often woudl be -swimming and basketball...anyone agree?

7.Musicals would DEFINITELY be very BIG!

8.  "There would be fewer movies, but they would be replayed over and over. "- That quote is RIGHT ON!  This is why Catie likes to watch movies by herself sometimes- So she can rewatch her favorite parts over and over again!