Come over!

Today’s blogging question, “Do you like it when someone with Down’s syndrome, or someone who has a family member with Down’s syndrome, comes over and says hello?”

Oh my gosh, yes. I love it. There is an instant connection. I like it when anyone comes up and says, “hello,” to us in fact. How funny that this is this week’s question, as that is just what has happened this past week. I take some wisdom from each person who comes up to speak to us.

Last week I took Coraline to the beach ten minutes on the train from our new house for the first time. A mum, together with her 27 year old daughter with Down's syndrome, walked past. They stopped immediately to say hello. The mum stayed to talk to me for about 10 minutes whilst her daughter, son and another family friend sat nearby. They were all so friendly.

Coraline currently has a fair few sensory needs which means sometimes it's hard to take her to things as she can squawk a bit and Kev and I don't quite know the secret to helping her feel calm. She often prefers to sit with her musical books wherever we go out; be it the beach, a friend’s house or a soft play. And to squawk even if she has the books. I took this opportunity to ask this mum if she thought it was OK if Coraline was just looking at her books mostly at the moment. She told me, "I am a great believer in readiness, and that’s the same for any child, it’s the same for my sons too.” I do believe she's right. It’s what our old neighbour Margaret has always said too. It's us (me and Kevin) who need to slow down and know that everything will come in its own time for Coraline, including the sensory settling. The lady also said, “find something she loves doing and build on it.”

Funnily enough, shortly before meeting them, a lovely lady and her daughter came and sat near us. She told me her niece has Down’s syndrome, and is the same age as Coraline. We are now following each other on here. Her message to me, “Coraline is beautiful”. This made me happy.

This is the same message a lady with Cerebral palsy said to me and Coraline on the train on Friday, coming back from the beach on our second outing there. She said, “She’s beautiful. I saw you both and I wanted to tell you that. She can achieve anything she wants. She’s gorgeous.”

Artwork “Heartstrings” by Willow Patterson in our new town