Young Adult with Down Syndrome - Success Story

[arminnie]

I know many parents here are working so hard with their children with various challenges. Thought you might like to hear a good news story.

I recently was able to spend time with a long-time friend and her 25 year old son with Down Syndrome. Her son is now living in his own apartment and has a job. He has friends and is enjoying his life.

He was a delight to be with. I really enjoyed seeing him - it had been several years as we live very far apart. He was well mannered and really pleasant to be around.

This is a young man who was extremely difficult as a child - melt downs, hostility, even violent at times. His parents' years and years of dedication and very hard work have really paid off.

His parents could not be more proud of him and his accomplishments.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for sharing the success story.

And this thread seems to be a good place to post a link to a story I saw on a disabilities message list:
Walgreens program puts the 'Able' in 'Disabled'

 

[Piper]

Sue--thanks for the link. It makes me want to shop at Walgreens!

 

[4eyedbuzzard]

...I recently was able to spend time with a long-time friend and her 25 year old son with Down Syndrome. Her son is now living in his own apartment and has a job. He has friends and is enjoying his life.

He was a delight to be with. I really enjoyed seeing him - it had been several years as we live very far apart. He was well mannered and really pleasant to be around.

This is a young man who was extremely difficult as a child - melt downs, hostility, even violent at times. His parents' years and years of dedication and very hard work have really paid off.

His parents could not be more proud of him and his accomplishments.

My wife worked in Special Ed. for many years with a girl who has DS. I remember this well due to my wife's need to unwind every day This girl had a lot of difficulty in middle school and high school. She could also be rather hostile at times, pushing, shoving and hitting others. She would work all week on something like counting change, telling time, or behavior related issues and then have forgotten it all by the next Monday morning. The next week was usually a repeat performance. The progress was so slow as to often be unnoticeable to those around her.

Things that most of us take for granted like remembering directions, writing a note, how to count money, and telling time are still very difficult for her. This young lady is now 21 and lives in a group home and works at our local grocery store. The hostility is gone, and she is always pleasant and polite, although she still has difficulty with many of the other items, especially math and money. She has many friends, some with similar disabilities and some who have none. She goes hiking and swimming in the summer and skis in the winter. The community is very supportive of her - all the local people who know her always stop to say "Hi" and see how she is doing. At work, she bags groceries and does stocking. She even sometimes tells the newer employees how to properly bag groceries - not mixing some items such as red meats, poultry, produce etc to avoid contamination; packing frozen foods together to help keep them cold, etc. We always try to go to her line because she does a better job than most of her co-workers.

She will probably never be able to live truly independently, but has through her hard work and the committment of her parents and many others found a "valued place in society" - a life in which she can contribute and be recognized as a participating member of society. Hopefully she will continue to make progress and have even greater personal success. It's a nice ongoing success story that we are reminded of every time we go food shopping.

 

[arminnie]

She will probably never be able to live truly independently, but has through her hard work and the committment of her parents and many others found a "valued place in society" - a life in which she can contribute and be recognized as a participating member of society. Hopefully she will continue to make progress and have even greater personal success. It's a nice ongoing success story that we are reminded of every time we go food shopping.

I'm sure your wife is one of those who made a difference.

My friend's son lives in a subsidized studio apartment, but it is not a group home. He has a "life skills" coach several times a week who helps him stay on track. It's not as independent as the typical 25 year old, but he like this young woman has found a "valued place in society". He work in a grocery story passing out samples. They love him and he loves the job.