STEREOTYPE: People with Down syndrome can not drive cars.
FACT: People with DS can pass driver’s license tests, own cars, and drive independently!
Often times, people with Down syndrome are denied opportunity to try new things because of negative perceptions and impossibility/fixed mindsets of those around them.
We celebrate parents and caregivers who gave them the opportunity to try. However, this is not to say a person’s worth is determined by this accomplishment.
National Down syndrome Society recorded Jay Nothagle as a person who passed the driver’s license test at 21. He owns his own truck and drives to work! He took longer to prepare for the test, though, yet he pulled through.
William Loughane, a special olympic gold medalist, received his Driver’s license in Ireland at the age of 26. William drives his Toyota Yaris to commute to his job.
John Marrs started his driver’s training classes at 15 and received his drivers permit, which allowed him to drive with an adult. At 18, he passed his driving tests and became a licensed driver!
Another example is Meredith Martin, a 24-year-old woman with Down syndrome who has her own apartment and has three jobs. She works at a local hospital, a grocery store, and an assisted living facility! Meredith has her driver’s license! She’s also active in her church and in several activities in her community.
NB This post was copied from an interesting research made by Rick Smith, Father to Noah, a young child with Down syndrome. Also note the key roles parents played in helping these amazing people break limits and attain milestones. I had seen the documentary of a young Nigerian with DS who earns a living driving.
Post credit:
Rick Smith. _Meet 7 People With Down Syndrome Who Have Gotten Their Driver’s License!_ October 23, 2013.
STEREOTYPE: Down syndrome births are by older women.
FACT: As maternal age increases above 35 years, the incidence of DS could increase. Records indicate that there are 1 in 1000 DS births at age 31,1 in 400 at age 35, and 1 in 100 at age 40.
This suggests that younger women have DS births as well as older women. Statistically, about 80% of babies with DS are born to women under age 35 years. This is because it falls within the active years for childbirths.
STEREOTYPES: People who live with Down syndrome can not be integrated into society, and they are not employable.
FACT: People with DS graduate from Secondary/High school and even participate in post secondary school experiences, thereby earning diplomas and college certifications. There are more successful people with DS than I can mention in a breath. A good number of them hold down jobs and own private businesses. I’ve read several stories and commendations from employers.
Back home, organizations like Patrick’s Speech and Language Centre, Down syndrome society of Nigeria, Mo Rainbow Foundation, KTC-KYC, The Engraced Ones (School of Grace), Inspired Christian School and others, are working assiduously to prepare children who live with disability in Nigeria for a future of financial independence.
While most people with the condition live in their homes in Nigeria, depending on severity, of course, abroad, they live either in supported Community Homes, with their parents, or independently.
STEREOTYPE: DS is a disease, and people who live with the condition often die young.
FACT: Down syndrome is not a disease, and people living with the condition do not always die young. The condition predisposes people to several ailments, but that is not to say they are sick. They could be very healthy. Life expectancy for people with the condition is on the rise from 60 to 80 years and beyond.
In any case, let me state here that length of days is determined by God.
Improved access to health care has reduced risks.
There is no known cure for Down syndrome, but management measures that focus on helping the child thrive physically and mentally are available. The challenge is in parts of the world where these services are too expensive for some people to access.
Management options could include physical and occasional therapy, inclusive education, open heart surgery, diet control, and so on.
Stereotype: People living with Down syndrome are always happy.
Oftentimes, people with DS are happy and pleasant to be with. They are the light of a party and anywhere they are. It is true that they may not understand sarcasm, but it is certainly absurd to assume they are always happy. They show emotions such as anger, excitement, irritability, and happiness. They are, in most cases, sensitive, sensible, and self-aware.
FACT: PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME ARE OFTEN HAPPY BUT ALSO CAPABLE OF EXPRESSING OTHER EMOTIONS AS OCCASION SERVES.
STEREOTYPE: People with Down syndrome are mentally retarded and cannot learn.
As always with stereotypes, this belief is a misconception.
Agreeably, individuals living with this condition are cognitively challenged and slow in learning in comparison with their neurotypical peers. We must realize that learning in itself has a broad definition. Learning is beyond academics. Sports, Arts, photography, and theatre are a few creative ways in which learning has expression. It would be a grave error to generalize that people with DS are mentally retarded or cannot learn.
FACT: PEOPLE WITH DOWN SYNDROME ARE NOT MENTALLY RETARDED. THEY LEARN AT A SLOWER RATE THAN THEIR PEERS AND ARE EXCELLING IN MANY FIELDS OF LEARNING, VOCATION AND CRAFT.
