Having a teenager with Down syndrome puts different limits on our family than having a typical teen. She has needs that other teenagers don’t have. For example, Penny isn’t planning…
In typical American life, some people win and others lose. Some people get the award and others get no recognition. Some people are considered better than others. It’s not that…
All kids can learn, but when Penny was born, I was told only that she would have developmental delays and an intellectual disability. What if I had been told instead…
Penny sent me a text on her first night of Camp PALS: “With my favorite girl at my favorite place.” The next day, the text read, “Best year ever.” Penny…
I love stories that remind me of the power of building on strengths rather than focusing on deficits. In disability circles, it’s really easy to pay attention to what our…
I hear the comparison all the time. When people want to explain that the unexpected can happen to any of us, and to any of our children, at any time,…
How do we prepare now to die well? Can we reimagine care of the dying in all of its messiness as a gift? Dr. Lydia Dugdale, a medical ethicist, internal medicine…
She wanted it to be a surprise. So when we showed up to watch Penny on stage for her annual Spring Dance Fest, we were expecting the usual. Penny would…
Are messy diapers, loads of laundry, and sleep deprivation part of your life right now? Nine years ago, Small Talk was published, and I just got to record it as…
When I was lying in the hospital bed a few hours after Penny was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome, a nurse told me, “I had a special child too.”…
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When Our Daughter Was Diagnosed with Down Syndrome
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