Pat.Goltz@f3.n300.z1.fidonet.org (Pat Goltz) (02/13/90)
Index Number: 6721 Guess what, folks! I just talked to my only sister, and she told me that her newborn has Downs Syndrome! We had a wonderful conversation about all the things we were going to do to help him become a capable person out there in society when he grows up. I would appreciate it if you all would tell me what you know about resources for this particular situation, and what you know from your personal experiences. I'll keep you all posted on how he does. Here's report number one. He's currently 4 weeks old. He is smiling and cooing, and likes to pay attention to faces, and he responds to people with his smiling and cooing. He likes to look at pastel colors. He has a monkey-rattle that has lots of different colors and textures, and he likes to grab this thing. So far, he's ahead. His main difficulty seems to be lack of muscle tone, but there seems to have been significant improvement even in this area. I was able to give my sister some good resources. Since I am thinking about it, I'll share them with you here. There are several efforts that concentrate on this type of difficulty, and how to handle it. The one on the cutting edge is an organization called The Michael Fund. It gathers funds and supports research into how to solve the problem of Downs. The primary researcher that is being supported is Professor Jerome Lejeune of Paris, who discovered the cause of Downs. Their headquarters in the United States is in Export, PA. I won't post the address yet because it has been years since I thought about them, and I want to make sure I get it right. Another effort that has dealt with Downs is Glenn Doman's Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, which is located in Philadelphia. He was working with a fellow from a Latin American country who wrote a book about the achievement of Downs youngsters in his country. He has kids who have learned violin through the Suzuki method who are really good, and he has some youngsters who can read several languages. One girl could read about four of them, and she was only five or so. I find his approach a little too rote, but what he does can be combined with some of the methods I believe in to produce really fine results. I'll tell you more next time. Keepin' the Faith! Pat -- Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!300!3!Pat.Goltz Internet: Pat.Goltz@f3.n300.z1.fidonet.org
Bill.McGarry@hnews.fidonet.org (Bill Mcgarry) (02/13/90)
Index Number: 6762 Hi Pat, My seven year old son, Alexander, has Down Syndrome (the official name is now Down Syndrome rather than Downs.) There is a National Down Syndrome Congress. They publish a newletter and can also put your sister in touch with a local support group. Their address is: 1640 W. Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608 1-800-232-NDSC 1-312-226-0416 (Inside Illinois) At four weeks, your sister's baby should be ready to start therapy and she should be in touch with the state agencies. The earlier therapy starts, the better. I will write more later. Bill