From the BBC News:

Lucy Baxter says she has always wanted her son with Down syndrome to have an “ordinary” life like all young men his age, including having sex.

Otto, 21, has tried meeting girls at nightclubs and pubs with his friends, developing relationships with female friends, and using a “special” dating agency to find girls with Down syndrome.

“Unfortunately Otto is caught between two different worlds, two different cultures,” Lucy said. In the world of people without disabilities, she said, girls aren’t interested in pursuing a relationship with Otto. In the world of people with disabilities, she said, “everything is special and you’re treated like a child and the girls there very often have been treated like kids.”

Lucy said it is not just about getting her son sex.

“Sometimes he comes down in the morning and is sad. He just wants a girlfriend.”

Otto concurs: “I really do,” he said.

See also – Otto Baxter: When a mother is right to go public — by Liz Hunt in the [UK] Telegraph

An excerpt:

Those in the mental health community who know Lucy Baxter say she did not take the decision to go public lightly, and that Otto would have been involved at every stage. Her comments, they say, are not exploitative of her son but designed to provoke and initiate a long-overdue debate. They salute her courage. So do I.

(BBC News photo)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 7:14 am and is filed under Down syndrome, families, inclusion, NOT2BEMISSED, parents, sexuality. 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.