‘Sarah Palin’s family drama’
September 5th, 2008
In People magazine, a cover story in which Sarah Palin says she was “devastated and shocked” to receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome at 13 weeks. She said she hid her pregnancy from the public and from her children.
“Not knowing in my own heart if I was going to be ready to embrace a child with special needs,” she reveals, “I couldn’t talk about it.”
The account quotes 14-year-old daughter Willow, upon meeting Trig, as saying that he “looks like he has Down syndrome.” It says Willow challenged her mother’s decision not to reveal the diagnosis.
Palin admitted she didn’t know how to break the news. “I was a little shocked,” says Willow “but I don’t care – he’s my brother and I love him.”
(Note: Full article is available on newstands, not on the Internet.)
This entry was posted
on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 4:13 am and is filed under Campaign 2008, Down syndrome, NOT2BEMISSED, families, intellectual/developmental disabilities, prenatal diagnosis, siblings.
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.
Email This Post
Our RSS Feed
September 11th, 2008 at 9:07 am
To Elizabeth:
My seventh child has Down Syndrome. I accepted the diagnosis in private for some time before I was ready to share it with family, let alone the world. I believe a diagnosis of cerebral palsy comes after the child has displayed delays in certain areas over time (pardon me if I am incorrect). The diagnosis of Down Syndrome is comes quite abruptly … it either is or isn’t. Please do not be disgusted by Sarah Palin’s need to process her feelings. No matter how accepting we parents are, the initial diagnosis is a shock.
September 10th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
After reading this article, I think it disgusts me that she would hide her pregnancy, as if she was ashamed of it. I have a younger sibling who has cerebral palsy. My mother has 7 children and she loved every one of them. She was never ashamed of my sister’s disability. I love my sister to death and I never treated her different. I don’t feel right having Sarah Palin as an advocate for people with disabilities either.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I understand how the “disability community” has had little time to really address the issue of Palin as “advocate” for them. I have worked with people with disabilities as a teacher, social worker, and now, a behavior analyst. What professionals and researchers in the field (myself included) know is that early and intensive intervention with children with Down Syndrome are the most effective means of moderating, reducing, and even preventing mental retardation.
Caring for a person with Down Syndrome, like caring for anyone or anything else, is always best when “front-loaded,” i.e., start early, work hard, and the end result will be so much better. From birth, these children require daily consistent therapies to address the common issues of low muscle tone, gastrointestinal issues, possible hearing and vision problems, and general personalities that are undemanding and pleasant. That last description can be particularly problematic, as it’s easy to just be grateful to have a “good baby” who doesn’t cry or demand attention; until about 4 months (and with babies with Down Syndrome), babies can’t stimulate themselves, and need a lot of consistent interaction, active play and engagement by people who love them to stimulate intellectual development.
Recently, I became the grandmother of a little girl who has Down syndrome. She’s just a few weeks older than little Trig, and she’s on track with all her “non-disabled” peers, trying to sit alone, reaching for the rattles and toys she prefers, smiling and talking to us, and generally showing everyone who meets her that babies with Down Syndrome can be just like the rest of us.
My daughter-in-law, a stay-at-home mom, and my son, who has a 40-hour-a-week job, work so hard and so diligently with our little girl, ensuring consistency with her therapies and medical appointments and giving her the kind of loving attention that inspires her to work very hard to learn. They know what most families who have children with disabilities know, that there is no substitute for family (preferably parental) involvement to ensure that their little girl will have the best chance for a typical life possible. I’d like to see someone report on the statistics of broken marriages, abandoned careers, and other sacrifices made by families of children with disabilities, but sacrifices made gladly and out of love. Mothers of children with disabilities know that it is nearly impossible to be a working mom and provide the kind of love and care needed for their children to thrive.
Poor little Trig. His mother is not trying to be a “working mom,” she is running for an office that requires 24/7 attention. The job she wants isn’t as an executive with a major company, from which she can be fired for poor performance. She’ll be a heartbeat away from a job with an intensity of demands that are virtually incomprehensible. First spouses, I understand, also have quite a few demands placed on them, at official functions, as goodwill ambassadors, etc. And we won’t be able to fire her for poor performance. And poor little Trig will not have the advantage (parents who are engaged in his life) that professionals know is vital to his development, that could ensure that he has the best chance possible to have a typical life, like the rest of us.
Mrs. Palin made her choice when she got pregnant in the first place. She was reluctant to tell Alaska residents about her pregnancy for fear that they would think she couldn’t handle all the responsibilities of her office and her family. But she thinks being our vice president is all right? She chose life, and now she should nurture that life, for which she has a unique responsibility. She’s only 44; maybe she should have said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to the McCain campaign. Maybe her time will come again in 10-12 years.
September 5th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Family drama: no kidding. And there’s a lot more to come as the family begins to sort out what disability will really mean in their lives. This woman hasn’t had time to learn anything about the needs of people with disabilities and their families: if she is really lucky and pays attention maybe she can figure out her own. There is NO WAY I would trust her to advocate for my son or my family. Too radical, too much drama, too little knowledge, too shallow, too little caring. Too mean.
September 5th, 2008 at 6:25 am
So many parents of children with DS have similar stories of how they felt when they first heard their child had DS.