Justin Poole

Name: Justin Poole

Age: 18

Hobbies: basketball, swimming, reading magazines and doing my “work.”

What is your favorite thing about yourself? The ladies like me.

#TheLuckyFew #TheLuckyFewFoundation #DownSyndrome #ThisIsDownSyndrome

THE POOLE FAMILY SERIES, JUSTIN: Richard & Mary, Parents

Justin was the second to be adopted. We made the decision to adopt again while watching JT swing on the playset looking so lonely. We sent our home study to the National Down Syndrome Adoption Association and received a call asking if we would consider an older child whose mother just decided she could not parent anymore. We were a little hesitant because of his age but we agreed to proceed.  Justin was 9 and a proud ginger. Justin came to us with some significant health issues which completely disappeared once we managed his diet and increased his activity.  After a 75-pound weight loss and a few lessons in blowing his nose and coughing with some gusto, the need for any breathing treatments just disappeared. He is one of the healthiest kids you would ever want to meet, and the turnaround was so quick.

Justin came to us not having experienced much. He was out of school more than he was in and he did not go out into the community much so there was a lot of fear every time we went out. He had never been on an escalator before and the first time - well it reminded me very much of the escalator scene in the movie “ELF”. Ah, but once he got the hang of it, he loved it and it has been a joy to be able to introduce him to new things. He loves the beach – he is a ginger so lots and lots of sunscreen. He loved Disney World and movies and music and dancing and is up for just about everything we do, and we do a lot!  He is a heck of a basketball player and plays almost every day.

Justin is also quite the ladies man and will always walk up to a lovely lady, gently tap her on the shoulder and invite her to dance. He did this at a wedding once and had the whole room up on their feet dancing. He was asked to the 8th grade dance by a very lovely girl and continues to have many female admirers.  He is well liked by his teachers and friends at school and likes to wear his baseball cap backwards after he spikes up his mane of red hair.  He turned 18 at the end of June and is a thriving teenager.