Josiah’s Joyful Jumpers

By Sandy on October 4, 2015

Yesterday was the 6th annual Buddy Walk for our local Down Syndrome group. Perfect weather, great turnout, fantastic fundraiser. Just one problem, our buddy wasn’t there. While Rick and I donned matching T-shirts and took a leisurely stroll around the park with all the other teams, Josiah’s Joyful Jumpers were not so joyfully missing their favorite jumper.

Josiah has been in the hospital 5 weeks already. I just learned they intend to keep him for 3-4 weeks more. He went in 3 days after school started and may not be home until Halloween. When you think of it like that, it really puts things into perspective. That’s a LONG time. It’s so incredibly hard to have him so far away from home. I do not like this one little bit.

Snack Attack

By Sandy on October 2, 2015

Josiah has a snack drawer in his hospital room, It contains some of his most favorite treats. For nearly 3 weeks, though he knew there were goodies in that drawer, Josiah didn’t much bother with it.

He is a growing teenager; always hungry. Between meals, we offer him cereal bars or some dried mango. We use fruit snacks as motivators to encourage Josiah to walk down the hall or to go outside to the playground. Rick and I dole out the snacks and replenish them as needed. It has worked well to keep them handy in the drawer close to his bed. Josiah never bothered with any of it. Until Tuesday.

Our Budding Picasso

By Sandy on July 23, 2015

The local Down Syndrome group offers incredible opportunities for our kids. Josiah bowled with them on Saturday and attended the Houston Astros baseball game with them on Sunday. Last night he went to an Art Class and tonight he is going Go Cart riding. The fun never ends and I love it.

The problem is, Josiah doesn’t seem to share the same level of enthusiasm as I do about all of these incredible opportunities. Truth be told, our boy would prefer to stay home and do nothing. He likes sameness. He likes his routine and he likes not having any demands placed on him. Venturing out to new places is not his idea of fun. That being said, he did do really well bowling on Saturday. It was our 3rd attempt to get him to Bowling Camp and the first one in which he stayed and actually touched a ball. So we are definitely making progress.

World Down Syndrome Day 2015

By Sandy on March 21, 2015

Today is the 10th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day! Every year on this special day, events and celebrations are organized around the world to promote acceptance of individuals with Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome occurs when a baby is born with 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. So March 21st, 3-21, we celebrate and raise awareness.

The official colors for WDSD are BLUE and YELLOW. You may see lots of blue and yellow today. You may also see lots of brightly colored socks, mismatched socks or even extra socks to signify the extra chromosome people with Down Syndrome carry. You can show your support for all those who have been blessed with an extra chromosome by wearing Blue or Yellow today and by donning ‘crazy socks’.

All Behavior is Communication

By Sandy on March 18, 2014

Josiah does not speak. He doesn’t have to. He communicates quite well with his behavior. He lets us know what he needs much of the time and has discovered an effective mode of communicating without words.

When he wants a drink of water, he stands by the kitchen sink and hopes we notice. Or, if a cup or water bottle is near by, he picks it up and brings it to us. When he does not want the food that is offered to him at meal time, he throws it to the ground, plate and all. We have learned to use a lot of plastic around here. We’ve also gotten really good at grabbing bowls and cups and plates mid-air.