This was our first child and we really had no idea of how fast he should develop. But when he was not able to hold up his own head for a longer period of time than the average child, then I started wondering. But even though I had some suspicions that something was different, I did not do or say anything because I felt others would treat him more like a normal child. Finally, one pediatrician suggested he suspected DS because of the single crease in the palm of the hand. At that time it finally dawned on me that he was right. Since he seemed quite healthy we didn’t feel a need to act quickly. Finally around a year old we had his chromosomes checked which showed the trisomy 21 in 100% of the samples. However since he still showed no signs of any other problems physically other than the low muscle tone, we decided to wait to give him a thorough checkup when we came for a visit to the US which was around 2 years 8 months.
But now knowing what I know about DS, I would have not done it that way at all. We were just blessed that there were not other problems other than his low muscle tone. I can only thank God that we prayed over and over for a healthy child, and I feel that God protected us especially knowing all of the other health problems that a DS child can have.
Another reason DS was not detected was because the doctor did not even give us a hint there was anything wrong. But I can guarantee that if he were born today that we would have known because this hospital does genetic checking for all at birth. Things are really changing here in India.
As for a physical program, we are just working on his interests. At first he was exposed to a lot of physical stimulation, we read to him a lot and showed him a lot of love. By the time he was one he had traveled to a number of places in India from south to north receiving a lot of different stimulations from train travel, to bus travel, riding in rickshaws, etc. In the church everyone would want to hold him and they would say how he is such a bright boy always giving him positive affirmations; they had no idea. And we continued that same positive upbeat attitude towards him, and continued to constantly have books in front of him stimulating his mind.
He loves music and dancing so we had him listen to a lot of music. When we got the thorough checkup in the US, the physical therapist gave us a set of exercises for us to do. Now we continue to have him do daily exercises which he seems to enjoy because he loves mimicking his older sister doing her daily exercise.
Now he likes to walk (He did not walk until 2 years.) and go outdoors and play in the park (Sometimes it seems impossible to get him away.). He still loves books and is reading a little.
His speech is delayed, but his comprehension is quite high. He has always loved books since he was tiny. But as parents we always reading to him and because it was important for us it was important to him. The avatar I have is showing Sunny around 7 months. He has always shown a good attention span. And if given a room of toys and books, he chooses the books over toys.
LR is very helpful as when he goes through the play lists, he tries to mimic each word which is good for his speech. What is nice is when he reads you know what he is saying.
By the way keep up the high expectations and have a positive attitude.
