My Quora Answer to:
Why does society have such archaic erroneous opinions about Down syndrome?
Those are holdovers from a time when Down Syndrome was not fully understood. Those poor souls were labeled as “retarded" and either rotted away in a spare room or sent to an asylum for the mentally ill. Yes, society considered them to be mentally ill.
Fortunately, this labeling and treatment began to decline in the early part of the 20th century in most civilized societies, but was taken to the extreme by Hitler. In fact, learning disabled people, the mentally ill, and the Roma (Gypsies) were rounded up among the first and sent to concentration camps. All were sterilized and most didn't survive. Why? Because all three groups were not only anathema to the “Master Race” but they were voiceless victims as well.
Since WWII, tremendous gains have been made supporting and educating those with Down Syndrome. Now that most, if not all, of the physical abnormalities are correctable, there is a HUGE undertaking to mainstream them into not only schools, but society as well. It's so exciting!
Now for my UPA. My son Jon will be 19-years old in 12 days . In utero, he was diagnosed with what the obstetrician with the world's worst bedside manner called, “abnormalities incompatible with life. Now, go home and conjugate the data. Come back when he stops moving.” My ex wrote an excellent book about Jon's gestation and birth in a book called “A White Rose for Jonathon” but for some reason the Quora admin doesn't like when I mention this. It makes them cry. We are now divorced and I have never received a single cent from sales, but hey, this is their forum.
Jon was born four weeks early, had open-heart surgery at two days old, and belly surgery at five days of age. He was in NICU for five weeks, became septic at home, and went back to the NICU for another two weeks.
His therapy started early and the first thing the therapist did was to strengthen his tongue muscles. This was for two reasons: to prep him for speech, and to teach him to keep his tongue in his mouth. You know how we all associate a tongue that sticks out with “retardation?” Well guess what? It's solely due to weak tongue muscles. So much for stereotypes. I wish some politicians would learn this lesson.
Schooling was tedious but effective. When he first entered kindergarten, 90% of his school day was spent in Special Ed and 10% in mainstream classes. By eighth grade the percentages were reversed. We were blessed with some of the best teachers around.
There have been other methodologies along the way. One is the National Association for Child Development () which treats Down Syndrome as a neurological condition, not a mental health one. Another strategy is the use of certain foods and supplements. For example, Jon thrived on eating tomatoes with olive oil. Tomatoes contain a compound related to Nerve Growth Factor. Olive oil not only facilitates absorption of this chemical, but also helps his eczema. As does fish/krill oil, another nutrient I recommend for everyone.
Piracetam is a mind-boosting or nootropic medicine available from offshore pharmacies. It is not cleared in the US because the FDA does not recognize “mental deficiencies” as an illness. Just one more example of politicians and bureaucrats thinking they know better than doctors.
In Germany (of all places), nootropics are mandatory for Down Syndrome people. And paid for. Denmark has its own Final Solution to the issue: kill as many of them as you can through abortion and even up to four days postpartum. I even read a comment from a Dane here on Quora wondering why we Americans have such a problem with that “solution.” I posted a picture of a laughing, smiling, cute-as-buttons Jon in reply.
I invented the word “geneticide” to describe the pogrom against whole populations of people based solely on their genetic make-up. It's in Angie's book.
He is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It can be for you, too.