The River Series
A Friend for Life
For the majority of kids in the nation who haven’t started school yet, today is the official start of Back To School. Going back to school can be so complicated for our school aged loved ones with Down syndrome. School systems were created without people with Down syndrome in mind, and as laws have changed to include people with intellectual disabilities within the schools, what that means and how it plays out differs from state to state, county to county, school to school. What doesn’t seem to change is our human need to want to be welcomed as we are and find belonging in a space. When welcome and belonging happens for our loved one with Down syndrome in his/her classroom every person connected to that space is changed forever and for the better. River’s story is one of welcome, a story showing just how sweet it is when everyone belongs.
The River Series 8/11: David/Grandad
When we gazed on him and held this tiny human being in our arms, we wondered what sort of life the future held for him. It would not be any easy or smooth road for him. Would he even be able to have a relationship with us as grandparents? So many questions about him in our heads about how he would fit into the world.
