Canadian Down Syndrome Awareness Week: The Little School that Could!

This is a little off topic tonight but I'd love to share the story of my older daughter T's basketball team. This is the kind of community that K will grow up in. They say it takes a village to raise a child & I'm proud to call this village mine! The spirit is incredible & it is just the kind of community that will help guide & support K & teach her that anything is possible.

Again, this is being posted late.  I wrote this last spring & forgot to hit post. I hope you enjoy the story of The Little School That Could!

People often don't really understand them I tell them how small our school is. We have 8 junior high girls - that's it, just 8 & that's a pretty average year. In order to have a team for volleyball or basketball everyone has to play.

Our older 3 girls also ski race & weekends like this one are hard. It the finals for basketball & my girls know they need to be responsible to the team however T is having a great ski race season too. She started out the season with a gold medal finish & has continued to place fairly well for the most part although just at the last race she slipped into 3rd place. This weekend is a 2 day race at a hill she enjoys & tends to do well at. It would be a great opportunity to move back up on the standings................ but she'll be playing basketball. T will make the Sunday race when basketball is done but will not start on Saturday.

Because of the small size of our school & the fact that everyone plays the team is always made up of girls of all shapes & sizes. One is tall but 3/4 are under 5 feet. Some are athletic & love sports while others might prefer a different pastime were they not so needed & appreciated. We also always have one of the younger teams as our team is made up of a mixture of  Jr. high students & often a few are pulled up from middle school just to have enough to make a team. All the girls though regardless of size, age ability, & any other factor that could affect the success of a junior high basketball team are just that. A part of the team. In fact, they are part of one of the 2 smallest schools on the league &........part of a undefeated basketball team!!!!!!

All through the regular season & now past the first level of the playoffs they have not lost a game.

There is a local round of playoffs then one higher level. It is day one of the 2nd level championship & they won again!

What is remarkable to me is that you would not look at this team & think "Wow - they look so competitive" because they don't but they have played much bigger, competitive looking teams & won.

As the girls made their way through the regular season win after win & then into the post season I've pondered. Why are they able to pull off win after win?

- they have truly become a team

- the girls communicate well

- they've known each other since they started school & are so familiar with each other that they often seem to just know where their teammates are on the court at any given time.

- they have coaches who believe in them

- I truly believe that a part of it has to be the parents & community too. This final round of games is at a town that is over 2 hours from home. The 14 players are being accompanied by 13 parents. My husband would have been number 14 but we had to conquer & divide this weekend as our oldest daughter is playing in the high school basketball finals. The only reason that the kids outnumber the parents is that several families have 2 kids playing. It is this way any time there is a school event - our kids know we are there for them. When we are at an away game & still have the largest cheering section. I'm sure our kids hear us & know how strongly we support them & our school.

Besides that, I'm really not sure why they are doing as well as they are but what I do know is that it's the spirit of cooperation & teamwork that has brought them this far. They are a wonderful example of what can happen when everyone learns to work together & has the full support of a tiny but powerful community behind them!

Todays the final day. Wish us luck!

Footnote:  the girls continued to play amazingly well but lost their first & final game at the same time.  They played a very good game & it was close but exhaustion was setting in after playing with such a small team all weekend & they were up against a team with an overflowing bench who had 40 girls come for tryouts!  Well played girls - 2nd place is amazing & we are all so incredibly proud of you!

"We all can dance" Canadian Down Syndrome Awareness Week

This is my last post for Canadian Down Syndrome Awareness week.  After this week of posts plus a back to back attempt at  31 for 21, I think I'm ready for a short break! I saved this post for the last day because I think it is fitting.  I hope you enjoy it!

I randomly picked this book at the library a few weeks ago.   The picture looked cute & K had been reading a nonfiction book about giraffes, so I thought it would be fun to read a fictional story too. I had no idea what a wonderful message this book would have.

 

How often do you hear that kids with Down syndrome can't do_____________? If you have been reading my blog for very long, you probably realize that I have no patience for people who put limitations on my daughter's abilities.
 for
Gerald the Giraffe would love to be able to dance like the other animals, but is discouraged because  he is so clumsy.

   

A wise cricket helps Gerald realize that he can dance just as beautifully 

as the other animals, he "just needs a different song"

 

Isn't that a great message? my daughter's healthy diet, the early learning we have done as well as the neurodevelopmental program the we have done with K have allowed her to dance far beyond the what would be expected of a 5 year old with an extra chromosome, & in some areas, far beyond a typical 5 year old with the usual 46. She is dancing, she is soaring & she is singing along as the music plays!

I recently got a chance to go for coffee with a mom who I've previously only met on line. I admire this other mom for her dedication & energy to not only her daughter's well being but towards other DS projects. She is a great support to others & is helping to get a lot of information out to other parents & to bring them together.

My friend's daughter is also doing a neurodevelopmental program & while she believes it is beneficial, the biggest results she sees haven't been from her neurodevelomental program.  The various supplements & vitamins her daughter uses have made a much bigger difference in her development. 

I'm sure the "music", whether it be a neurodevelopmental program, vitamins, a diet free of gluten, dairy,  a certain therapy or therapist etc, is different for every child,  but I believe every child, with or without an extra chromosome, can dance, we just need to help them find the music that they love!

31 for 21 - More Light at the End of the Tunnel

It's 1:26 am - a rare night out with my husband & a few other couples. Technically I've missed today's 31 for 21 post but even though it's really late, I want to quickly share today's events. Oh my, I'm tearing up again! I'm so proud of K.   She started swimming lessons again today. I was holding my breath a little as she got started because she had a bit of a rough start with her lessons this summer & although we had figured it out & resolved the problem I still had some nagging worries. I know I shouldn't but I did...............K aced it today. I could not have asked for a better behaved little girl & although she was only about chest high to the rest of the kids in her class who all happened to be 1 or 2 years older, she fit right in skill wise. According to her instructor, "She did great!"

The light at the end of the tunnel is looking more beautiful every day!

John Marrs - An Inspiring Young Man With Down Syndrome

Over 4.5 years ago, after we received K's diagnosis of Down syndrome, I went on a long research binge.  Most of what I read was " They will reach their milestones in their own time."  I just could not be content with that, & thought there had to be something more.  I searched what seemed to be the furthest darkest corners of the internet scrounging up any piece of information I could find before I found a few kids with Down syndrome that I would consider to be truly inspirational.  Perhaps the stories were there, but I just found it difficult to find them.  At first the few stories I found seemed to good to be true, but they got me researching more & believing that perhaps there was more that I could do than to just wait for my daughter to do things " in her own time."

One of the first truly inspiring kids I learned about is John Marrs.  Although I have never met this family, I will always be grateful for that first glimpse of hope that I got when reading their website.

Here is a link: John Marr`s page Make sure you check out the whole site. It's full  of information & John's poem is wonderful! TNI & a neurodevelopmental program as well as a loving family with high expectations have contributed to John's development.

The reason that I thought to post this is that John's name has come up recently on the internet because he is being inducted into the National Honor Society. Check out Got Down syndrome`s blog for the story.

I Love This Quote!

A friend posted this quote on FaceBook the other day:

"I am looking for a lot of men who have a infinite capacity to not know what can't be done"

Henry Ford

Henry Ford's name was a common one in our household growing up.  My Dad - K's Grandpa loves old vehicles & K has had the chance to ride in the rumble seat of Grandpa's favorite car occasionally. I had not heard this quote until recently, but I think there is so much truth in it.  If we don't realize that something is not doable, then we just might try to do it & will often see great success.

 K & Grandpa's Model A

When we first started doing early learning activities as well as a neurodevelopmental program with K, I often thought it would have been great if I had gone to school in the early childhood education or some sort of therapy field.  I often found myself wondering in what direction to go, or trying to figure out what was the next step in development that I should be working on - & I still do sometimes. I do figure out where to go next, but I know it requires a lot more research than it would for someone with some background in this area.    We started K's ICAN program about a year ago & that helps a lot as most of it is all set out for me now, however, I still find that I have to be creative & look for new ideas in order to keep her excited & interested...................so I'm still floundering at times:), but although I don't always know which exact step to take next, I always seem to find more than enough activities to keep K busy & learning.

 .....................and lately................... I am starting to appreciate my lack of understanding! If I had all of that knowledge, would I have also had the perception that my daughter could not do A, because kids with DS don't learn to do A until a certain age, or even that typical kids don't learn to do B until they are _____ years of age?  Would it have held me back from trying some of the things that we have taught K at such an early age?   Certainly, I never would have thought to teach my baby to read right? I will never know the answer to those questions, but I believe that things happen for a reason & I am exactly where I need to be in this journey of life right now - for myself & my family.

Once we started down the early learning path with K, we have just kept wandering on.   I never considered teaching my older kids geography, yet K knows most of the continents & a number of countries on the map & can read many more.  Last week we decided to teach her how to cut with a knife & my current goal is to teach her to tie her shoes. These are a few examples, but I could go on & on, so, until I know better ;)  on we will go, perhaps with blinders on at times, but always moving forwards!

31 for 21: Inspiration From a Stranger

Last night as I was standing in the checkout with my 14 year old, I had a wonderful encounter with a someone I have never met before.  I started to write that she was a stranger, but even though we only chatted for a minute or 2, she is not a stranger.

This lady had MS & just this spring, her doctors told her she would not be able to walk again & had even ordered her a wheel chair.  Both my daughter & I could hardly believe she had such a diagnosis.  Even as she walked away, we could see no trace of the troubles that had plagues her this spring.  Standing in front of me was a testimony to what strong will & determination can do.

She also told me the story of her daughter. Although it was a sad story, I also found it incredibly inspiring..  This little girl obviously had inherited a good measure of her mother's determination because when she was born, the doctor's said she would not live 72 hours, yet they enjoyed spending the next 7 wonderful years with her.

It was a very brief encounter, but lasting inspiration. 

This is just another reason that I don't accept any negative prognosis that I am given.  No doctor or specialist can factor in what the human spirit can achieve.