From the Orange County (CA) Register:

Here’s a powerful letter from the proud and happy mother of a young man who has Down syndrome. Sandra McElwee paints a persuasive picture of a teenager who is, in her words, “far from a burden,” and argues that obstetricians and gynecologists have a responsibility to educate parents about the positives of life with Down syndrome — not just to scare them.

Think about her letter in the context of the previous post, in which scientists promise earlier prenatal diagnostic results for Down syndrome.

McElwee says of her son Sean:

… at age 14, he has been in regular education classes, he reads, writes, and calculates equations I don’t understand. He has played soccer, baseball, basketball, football, golf, and volleyball competitively – and he’s good! He’s a huge flirt and often draws a crowd of girls. He is obsessed with the movies High School Musical 1 and 2. And knows the choreography of each, with precision that the actors took a lot of time to perfect.

… He does his own laundry – including hanging it up! He washes the dishes, feeds his dogs, scoops their poop, takes out the garbage, and – as every other teenager does – complains about it the whole time. He recycles cans and bottles for extra income, buys all his own X-Box games, I-Tunes and clothing

… It’s likely that parents receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome [who] choose to abort don’t know anybody like my son.

… Their doctors rarely know anybody with Down syndrome, either. So doctors present clinical information about the possible medical and developmental complications – and say nothing of the real-life rewards of raising a child with Down syndrome.

It’s a terrible situation for parents. They must contemplate potential problems before they’ve had a chance to fall in love with their child, before the child has even taken a breath.

… I believe it is the obligation of the [American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists] to assure that every medical professional that delivers test results communicates the potential benefits of parenting a child with Down syndrome, as well as the potential complications.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Down syndrome, medicine, prenatal diagnosis, public attitudes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.