This guy.
He loves garbage, or in Mozart-speak, it’s “dar-badge.”
I want to tell you all about dar-badge.
This week is his winter break from public school, but all 5 siblings are at the homeschool hybrid for the day. Papi has flown away somewhere for work so the two of us are alone.
He is following me around the house, sinning his ABC’s and collecting garbage.
When parents are faced with a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome, they will never tell you this.
You will hear all of the reasons Down Syndrome is hard, a struggle, a battle with health and developmental delays. No one may EVER TELL YOU ABOUT dar- badge.
At just shy of 7 years old and with Down syndrome, this guy has chores. He helps with garbage and he as been capable of it for months.
And not just that!
He helps rinse and load dishes.
He puts on his own shoes and socks.
He can feed the cats.
His speech will take awhile. Many of his developmental skills are definitely delayed, however, many are close to o track fo a 6 year old.
Not only is he capable, he does most of his work with a level of joy that will change the trajectory of my day and brighten the atmosphere of our home for everyone.
Let me tell you, THAT is developmentally advanced beyond any of his older siblings, for sure.
When you see someone with Down Syndrome being celebrated for something developmentally normal and treated as an anomaly because they are capable, I challenge you to remember this.
They. Are. All. Capable.
That person with Down Syndrome that you are cheering on is amazing, but they also benefit from a certain privilege.
They. Were. Born.
In the USA my son is one in TWO.
Two out of ten children with Down Syndrome are given the opportunity to be born and to prove to this world just how capable each of them or ANY of them can be.
Mozart is here sharing his normal today, to stand up for the other eight. And we are going to keep doing it.
He was not a flawed clump of cells to be tossed aside for an extra chromosome.
Mozart is no Garbage.
Down Syndrome should not be a death sentence.
Let’s stand up for the other 8 in 10.
FOLLOW me on Instagram @TalithaSeibel for more or Mozart’s little hashtag #mozyondownsyndrome
