Down

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Summer has Down Syndrome or is a Mongol, whats used here in the streets.
We and many other parents with us, think this name is totally outdated and a bad thing to call our kids.
Why? is the question asked me even by parents with a DS kid.
First and most important:

Our child is a human being, she is not a mongol, she has a Syndrom called Down's.

Second: the term 'mongol' is a term that originated in the 19th century. The time that al asians ware called mongols. The white man believed that Asians ware a race who warent as high at the evolutionary ladder as they. They ware a lesser race.
Because the face of a human with DS had a lot of simularity with those Asians and they didnt function on the level 'normal' people did, they ware believed to belong to that race.
In 1866, when dr Down discovered that those physical appearances belonged to a syndrom, the name was changed into Down's Syndrom.

Third: in our country, I dont know if this is the same in other countries, Mongol is a word you use as a curse. It always is used in a negative way.

Unfortunately its not an exception that even professional people, like doctors, use this word for our kids. One of the reasons is that in the medical books and education it is stil used.
We try to get this name out of the world by giving education why its wrong.

We call our kid a Downy or like her sister says, a Super-Downy.
This sounds a lot friendlier

What's wrong with Summer?

Down's Syndrom like Summer has is the most common kind. During the making of the egg or the spermcel something went wrong.
Normally every cel in the body has 23 chromosom pairs of which there are 22 similar and 1 determines if its a boy or a girl.

In the case of a Downy chromosom pair 21 wasn't happy being a twosome and decided to make it a threesome. and thats why the cells of a Downy are build differently, they got one extra.
Because everything we are build off excistes of cells, you'll find the Down's in several places.
Some have a heart problem like Summer, some don't.
Every Downy has his own remarkable things and a ego, just like all kids without the extra.
The only thing they have in common is the facial features and thats the reason, unfortunatly, that they are so easy stigmatised.