31 for 21 Blog Challenge: DAY SIXTEEN: Do We Decide the Outcome?

I read a story recently of a young lady with Mosaic Down Syndrome.  She had battled leukemia and, now at the age of 9, is in remission.  Here's the thing....until she was diagnosed with leukemia, she didn't know that she was rocking an extra chromosome.  That makes me wonder what role parental/provider/professional expectation plays....  It must make a difference.

If this young lady was thought to be 'normal,' she was treated as such.  There were obviously no overt signs of delay or red flags would have been raised much sooner.  It wasn't until a medical problem confirmed an extra chromosome, that anyone knew otherwise.

I have friends that have children with DS.  Some kids are coddled, as if still a baby.  Some, not so much.  I wonder what ultimate role that plays in outcome. 

We expect Josiah to be not unlike our other boys.  Outside of lower muscle tone, he is just like them!  I know he's still young so we don't yet know his capabilities.  However, we never question his capabilities.  We know he can do anything he wants, anything he sets his mind to.

A provider recently said to us "well, kids with developmental disabilities can get this until they are 7."  She was referring to a service we didn't want.  More strikingly, she referred to Josiah as a kid with developmental disabilities.  He has Down Syndrome.  I don't see him as a kid with developmental disabilities.  I think how things are phrased are important. 

This all may sound very petty.  It may sound as though I'm arguing semantics.  It's just my opinion....

"Labels are for filing.  Labels are for clothing.  Labels are not for people."

- Martina Navratilova