AH> Hi & welcome, Mark!  Recently you wrote in a message to All:

Thanks!! Happy to be here..

AH> days after Nora's birth, when the pediatrician's diagnosis of DS had just
AH> been confirmed, the gynecology resident accosted me outside our room to
AH> ask... in essence... why I hadn't been weeping & wailing & gnashing my
AH> teeth.  I told him about Judy, a former student of mine, and added that
AH> I'd
AH> be quite content to have a daughter like her.  :-))

We had a similar situation.  After they first told us that our son had DS,
they sent in a "counsler" to talk to us and make sure we were "ok".  I
couldn't believe they did such a thing and sent the person out of the room. 
They treat it like some horrible disease - which is far from the truth.  We
are happy with whatever we were given.

AH>           Uh-huh.  IIRC, kids with Down's syndrome walk independently at
AH> 3
AH> yrs. of age on average... just as Nora did.  One of the common
AH> characteristics of DS is that various muscle groups tend to be stronger
AH> than

Our son used to "skoot" on his butt very fast on the floor.  He never crawled.
He went from skooting to walking and then to running.  :)   
There is one very unique thing with our son.  I have heard most children with
DS have a large straight line on the palm of their hands.  

Our son has a straight line on one of his hands, but not the other.  I'm not
sure why or what that could mean, if anything.

AH>           IOW he's a typical boy in many ways although he may have
AH> reached
AH> some milestones later than others of his age generally do.  One of the

Exactly.  It isn't that they "can't" do something.  It can be delayed and can
take longer to reach the same milestones.

AH>           I figure he probably understands more than some other adults
AH> realize. When Nora was around the same age I realized I had to simplify
AH> my
AH> delivery if I expected other kids (of supposedly normal or higher
AH> intelligence) to understand what I was attempting to say.  I agree that
AH> both
AH> speech therapy & sign language may be very helpful for kids who can't get
AH> their tongues around the words.  :-)

He understand most everything.  His big problem is trying to express himself
in words.  He is getting it though, just taking a bit.

AH>           Yes.  A mother of two once told me she often wished her
AH> "typical"
AH> son was more like the one with DS, and a mother of four told me the one
AH> with
AH> DS was the light of her life.  I don't have other kids of my own to
AH> compare
AH> with, just a whole bunch of students of various ages.  But otherwise I
AH> can
AH> relate....  :-)

We have a total of 6 kids.  Only one between the two of us (being our son).
Everyone is unique and special in their own way..

- Mark

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