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ecib  ·  1457 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Last Children of Down Syndrome

I'll say this.

A good friend of mine was a teacher for a decent stretch of time, and focused on teaching autistic children. She found it extremely rewarding but that's inconsequential and completely besides the point. She always had a lot to say about how happy and full the lives of her students were. I remember when my wife and I were looking at having a kid, and I was talking to her about my fears that at our age there was a higher probability of genetic issues resulting in things like Downs Syndrome. I will always remember the distinct lack of time that elapsed in her reply, coupled with her nakedly honest response asking why that would even matter, -that children with Down syndrome where just as awesome and capable of radical happiness as any other.

I still think about that jarring moment to this day.